


Fate Was a Funny Word

by SerasKucheki



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games)
Genre: Anal Sex, Arkham Verse, Batjokes, Drugs, M/M, Slow Build, Torture, batman video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-13 17:49:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 80,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4531344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerasKucheki/pseuds/SerasKucheki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joker comes to Gotham to change things up and he does change things up for one person, Batman or otherwise known as Bruce Wayne. At first it was very easy to tell what the super villains wanted and the normal thugs but he can’t figure out what Joker wants. They first met on Christmas and ever since that day neither of them have been able to get the other out of their mind. Something has happened but no one can figure it out. The Asylum can’t hold Joker forever, it’s only a matter of time when he gets out again and creates havoc. Batman is anticipating it, almost like he wants it to happen sooner than later. Feelings, actions, thoughts, and events cannot be explained until someone finally says what needs to be said.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Face In Town

**Author's Note:**

> The characters will be based off the Batman Rocksteady games and it’s starting after Arkham Origins. Where I got the motivation to write was from this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9akBjJZB29w

Bruce knew that when he landed the Batwing in the Batcave that Alfred would immediately tell him to take care of himself. He hadn’t eaten all night or slept yet. It was a longer night than usual but it had to be done when there was a bounty set on his head. Not Bruce Wayne’s head, but Batman’s head. The whole night he was trying to figure out who would go to that extent to want him dead and have the money for the reward. The last thing he wanted was to have another criminal in his town and one of the most unstable ones.

Alfred was waiting for him and when Bruce got out he followed him all the way to the bench and watched Bruce sit down to start searching about the Joker. “Master Bruce, the sun is rising, the night is over and I think you should eat some breakfast and then go to bed.”

“No, I need to find out more about him. He’s nothing like what I’ve encountered before.” he said shaking his head but Alfred soon moved to turn off the computer. “Alfred.” he growled.

The older man didn’t even flinch or budge when Bruce turned around trying to intimidate him. “I believe it’s time for you to eat and rest.” he stated with a firm voice. “You may have other people in fear of you but I am not afraid of you Master Bruce.”

Bruce’s face slowly softened and he moved to take the cowl off. “I’m sorry Alfred, I wouldn’t want you afraid of me.” he assured him as he set it aside. “Out of everyone who needs rest tonight it’s you.” he reminded him.

“I’m alive and it’s thanks to you. That’s all I need as motivation to make sure you eat and go to bed.” he explained as he stepped forward to help Bruce out of his costume. He was also looking over his body for any injuries that were serious and would need to be taken care of immediately. Alfred let out a sigh of relief to see just bruises and a tattered costume. “I’ll have your costume fixed tomorrow before nightfall.”

“It’s alright Alfred, don’t push yourself.”

Alfred was glad to have Bruce back and fixed his suit a little bit before he led the way upstairs to the kitchen. He then got the food out to warm it up making sure to make it quick by having two plates made up for them. He got Bruce’s done first before warming his up and made sure all the food was out for them to have seconds even though he would be done after one plate. After sitting down the two ate in silence. Alfred felt his body starting to give into exhaustion and barely finished his last bite.

Bruce was able to see how tired Alfred was getting and before he could even try to get up, grabbed both of their plates and put them in the sink. “I can put everything away.”

“Master Bru-“ he started but was instantly interrupted.

“You’ll barely make it up to bed, I can take care of it.” assured Bruce not wanting Alfred to do anything else for him after dealing with him all night long, especially when he got angry enough to push him out of the way. It didn’t matter if he saved his life the night got to him and he reacted badly toward Alfred, the only family he had left.

Alfred nodded as he got up and Bruce turned to watch him. He wanted to make sure Alfred would make it up okay and Alfred did have just enough energy left to get him upstairs. The night was very long and it took a toll on the both of them physically and mentally. Alfred was glad that Bruce cared so much for the city but even more for him. His faith in what Bruce was trying to accomplish was tested to the edge of his patience and in the end, he found himself pushing Bruce to get back out there. He hated having the boy out there fighting by himself but Bruce had a mission, a good mission and he would help him any way he could.

Bruce finished up the dishes and put the food back in the fridge before he went to bed himself. His body was starting to ache and he nearly fell onto the bed glad to be back home and in his room. He moved a little on the bed to get comfortable and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep.

***

The next few months went without many incidents and Bruce thought that he would be able to get a nice break from any of the supervillains. He really was hoping for a long break from Joker more than any of them mostly because he had nightmares…then again he couldn’t call them nightmares. The dreams he had didn’t wake him up with a startle or scare him. His mind was just repeating what had happened on Christmas Eve and sometimes, he even heard Joker’s laughter. Alfred hadn’t noticed how he would look around reaching for his belt yet but he just couldn’t get the Joker out of his head. Everything changed and there was no going back.

***

Joker was keeping himself busy and having a good time fooling the doctors and guards into thinking he was playing the nice prisoner. He wasn’t there to be treated and he would never be ready because there was nothing to treat. He wasn’t insane, he wasn’t mad, and he wasn’t crazy. The inmates got the news and he heard what people were saying about him. It made his smile disappear every time he heard bad things or someone trying to say Batman would always win. His informants began to learn how he hated bad news, how it was better to keep a smile on his face so some of them tried lying. Lying only got them a one way ticket out of the asylum, on a gurney in a nice black bag just for them. He was able to make it look like someone else did it so his image of being complacent wouldn’t be compromised.

Harleen Quinzel, Harley as he came to know her was still his doctor and just playing the role so she wouldn’t lose her job. He didn’t think she’d be useful after getting him in control of Blackgate but he would see if he could get her to help him again, to do so he had to be interested into her. As the months went on, he got better at flirting with her, knowing how to get her to work for him and he knew that when he needed it to happen, she would be his ally in escaping. Joker wouldn’t play his trump card yet but he was getting tired of people beginning to look down on him like he needed help, how he wouldn’t stand a chance in winning, and how his life would be better if he would get better.

***

All of his planning was finally coming to a close as he got ready to break out of the Asylum. As much as Harley wanted to know more about what was keeping him busy he wouldn’t tell her anything. He had to keep her out of the loop until he was ready to use her. The last time she was very helpful and he found a way to keep her help in it a secret but this time, he wanted to prove just how good he was and how determined he could be. Joker was keeping an eye on the guards, doctors, and the warden, how each one moved through the asylum every time he was transported on the upright gurney. He didn’t have much to do in the asylum so he watched, watched, and watched. The day he would be escaping he was giving out jokes to everyone and everything, the remarks just kept coming.

Cash really didn’t like leaving Joker in his cell alone by how he was acting and eyed him up. “If you keep staring, I might blush.” teased Joker.

”What are you up too?” he asked having a weird vibe about what was going on and wondered if he should just stay outside his cell to make sure he wouldn’t do anything.

”I’m offended! I have been nothing but good since I’ve been here.” said Joker holding a hand to his chest as he sat down on his bed. “I’m just in a good mood because my therapy session went so well!”

Cash wasn’t impressed and his frown deepened as he continued to watch Joker. If it wasn’t for his face being permanently white, red lips, and green hair he wouldn’t even look like the Joker in the asylum uniform. He really didn’t want to know what he would look like as a normal person because he’d be able to hide from everyone, even the Batman. There were a couple other villains that would probably be able to hide if they didn’t wear mask or wore question marks all the time but no one knew Joker’s past. No one would be able to pick him out of a crowd if he looked normal. “I’m watching you Joker.” he warned before he decided to leave and just check on the security later.

Joker’s smile slowly faded away as Cash left the wing and he got up stretching. _My good streak is about to end._ He pulled out a security card that he snatched from one of the guards who started to fall for his good behavior act and let him get too close. There weren’t a lot of places he was able to go past his cell and therapy room but he got permission to take a walk with Harley a couple of times for therapy. As long as he answered her questions, she didn’t care which way he wanted to go and he found a couple of places of interest. One of those places would have his effects and he had a great map that no guard could take from him.

Time passed as he waited for everything to calm down and get late enough to where the security was minimal. He didn’t feel tired at all as hours passed even though he was just sitting on his bed making sure he had everything memorized, the route he would take, the guard positions, ways to get around the guards, and how he would take care of them until he had his belongings. When it was time he went to the bars leaning against them and sticking his arm out, waving it. No one appeared to be paying attention before he grabbed the card and went to one side of his cell. Luckily since he hadn’t caused any trouble since Blackgate they didn’t put him in a cell that would take much effort to escape. He reached as far as he could to move the card in a circle and pulled away at the sound of the beep. His smile was back on his face as the bars slid open and a fit of giggles escaped as he swayed on each foot. “Time to get out of here.”

Cash looked up at the clock and it read five to eleven. He yawned as he got up and grabbed for his radio. “Security 1 to Wing 4.”

One of the guards grabbed his radio to respond not noticing that behind them, Joker was starting to creep up on them. “Wing 4, come back.”

”How are things? Joker is still in his cell?” he asked.

Luckily the guard that was answering was Joker’s “friend”. “Yeah, he’s fine, haven’t heard anything from him since we brought him in.” he assured Cash.

”Good, see you tomorrow, Security 1 clear.”

The guard didn’t respond and didn’t need too as he put his radio back on his belt. “I think Cash is a little too paranoid.”

Joker’s smile widened as he got up behind them and reached for their heads to push them forward into the ground. He then took turns in slamming his foot down on each of their heads to make sure they weren’t getting up again. “Thanks for the gun.” he smiled as he took the one from his friend and headed down the hall. He didn’t go around the corner since there were more guards and set down the gun to grab a corner of a vent. He pulled the corner of the vent until he could yank out one screw, then worked on the next until he had all of them free and set it aside. Joker went into the vent staying to the right making sure he didn’t get too far from his destination and soon came to an end. He did his best to look around the surroundings and he was passed the one set of guards. His luck was on his side that even without the map of the vents he got to the area he needed. The elevator up and out of here was in the Intensive Treatment Lobby and he found the way there.

It was too soon to attack the exit so he turned around keeping to his right again and going down into another area that was close to the storage of the inmates effects. He didn’t mind having the gun he had now but it would just help him get inside of the room. There was five guards here and it was mostly because of shift change. He couldn’t see Cash and wondered if he had already left, which was sad because then he couldn’t have fun with him like he would his guards. Joker moved around in the vent to put a foot up against it and slowly pushed on the left side, middle and right before he kicked it hard. The vent cover flew out and startled the guards.

Joker moved a little back in the vent with the gun pointing at the opening to wait for one of them to get curious. One guard wasn’t too scared so he went over to the vent without much argument to see what was going on and met Joker holding a gun to his face. He froze and didn’t think of grabbing his gun to shoot. Joker’s smile widened as he motioned him to stand up. “Don’t try anything funny now.”

The other guards started to question what was wrong as he stood back up and moved so Joker could get out of the vent. He instantly grabbed the guard around his neck and held his gun to his temple. “Joker!” shouted one of them as he reached for his radio but was shot dead.

Joker sighed and shook his head. “Now, I thought it would be obvious, I have a hostage, I want out, and none of you will be in my way.” he explained as the group was trying to figure out if they should check on the guard he shot or help the one with a gun to his head. “Promise if I turn my back you lot won’t try to kill me or call for help?” he asked.

No one agreed at first but as he tightened his finger on the trigger nods came quickly and they even set their guns on the ground. Joker shook his head as he pushed the guard away. “You guys are no fun.” he said before he them all down and dropped the gun. It was time for him to get his belongings and leave. He used the card to get into the storage room and looked around at the boxes that were on shelves, on the ground, some opened, and some with mold. _They better have kept my possessions in decent condition._ Joker walked through them slowly looking around for his box and soon spotted it in the back, in the corner. The box was sealed shut which was nice and after he opened it he was glad he didn’t have to specifically hunt someone down during his escape. His suit was in the same condition he left it, his modified hand buzzer was inside, and so was a deck of cards. The cards weren’t in a box because he never put them back in once he took them out.

It didn’t take long for him to get dressed into his suit and run his hands through his hair. He wanted to look his best as he took down the guards blocking his exit. Joker was glad to see no one had caught on that he had escaped yet when he left the storage room. He then headed toward the next door meeting no resistance and used the card to open the door to Intensive Treatment Lobby. “I’m outta here, do your worst.” he smirked.


	2. Joker Escapes

Joker ran to the edge of the platform leading to Inmate Transfer and headed straight toward a guard before he kicked him in between the legs. He laughed to himself before running back around to take a different route to a guard he spotted farther down the hall. He went around a couple corners before taking cover to peek around the last one. The guard was facing down the hall but hadn’t noticed the other one was incapacitated. He slowly turned to face the direction Joker was hiding before turning his back, giving Joker the perfect opening. Joker snuck up behind him and jumped onto the guard, wrapping his legs around his waist, holding his arm in front of his mouth, and hitting his head a few times before snapping his neck.

The guard went down at the right time because as Joker looked down the hall where he got the last one, another guard was walking by. He quickly ran to the left and creeped behind the guard all the way up the ladder before he kicked him in between the legs taking him out with one hit as well. Joker took a few seconds to look around carefully for another guard spotting him on the walkway next to the one he was on. He walked to the edge and saw a connecting beam that he climbed on to get to the other side. The guard looked behind him for a second making Joker take a few steps back before getting behind him and snapping his neck.

Joker went up the stairs into an area where a guard was protecting the controls to get out of Intensive treatment. He took cover at a corner again waiting for the guard to come back toward him. He was starting to get impatient as the guard took his sweet ass time to strut back toward the controls but as soon as he was close enough, Joker jumped out at him, punched him in the chest and put his hand over his mouth until he lost consciousness. There was only one more guard and all he had to do was walk out of the room, down two sets of stairs and follow the guard as fast as he could before jumping him and snapping his neck. “Time for a little vacation Arkham, I’m outta here.” he smirked before he left the facility.

***

The news of Joker escaping the Asylum didn’t get to the public until later in the morning. They had to contact the families of the dead guards, investigate to see what had happened to let him out of the Asylum and they realized that cameras would be a good investment. It didn’t help that there wasn’t a lot of money being put into the Asylum because no one cared about the insane. Now the people cared because Joker caused the riot at Blackgate and now escaped the Asylum.

Bruce was barely awake when he turned on the television but was wide awake when he heard about Joker escaping. He turned it up and listened to the report of how he killed several guards, had access to a keycard after killing a guard and no sign of him since last night. He was angry at himself because he didn’t know what was going on and he couldn’t help them. There wasn’t even a sign of Joker in the city either and there was no way he had the good fortune of Joker leaving Gotham. Bruce got up and headed downstairs to find Alfred.

”Master Bruce, did you see the news?” asked Alfred as he was leaving the kitchen with a tray of food.

”Yes, did you find anything about him?”

”I would have told you if I did sir but there was nothing with his fingerprints. He didn’t have any, the facial recognition didn’t come up as anyone, and the first news of the Joker was here in Gotham.” he explained holding the tray out to him. “Eat first, then worry.”

Bruce already felt anxious and wished he could go out in his suit to start searching everywhere. The chance of him finding Joker with no evidence or trail would be…zero. He knew his chances of just running into him when it took one whole night for him to find out who put the bounty on his head and capture Joker. What was strange to him was how easy it was for Joker to get out but how long it took him to do it. “Thank you Alfred.” he said as he took the tray to the dining room table so he could sit down and eat.

Alfred went back into the kitchen to grab himself a plate and sit next to Bruce. “Don’t worry, you’ll find him and catch him just like you did last time.” he assured him. He had noticed how strung up Bruce got every time Joker was mentioned and could see how he was distracted after he captured Joker. Bruce and Alfred never talked about the criminals other than what they were doing and how they could stop them. There wasn’t a reason to talk about the criminals and what Bruce thought of them but he had a feeling he would have try to find out about what Bruce thought of the Joker. “Master Bruce, what is your impression of the Joker?”

”My impression?” he asked not too sure what he thought about him. He knew that he was insane, he didn’t fear death, his moods change quickly, and he wants Batman to kill. “I don’t know how to answer that.”

The older man paused in eating as he figured out how he could put it to Bruce. “What was your first thought?”

Bruce thought back when he first met the Joker, when he found out that he was running Sionis’ operations, and how he took control of his thugs. “He’s intelligent.”

”If he’s intelligent, what does that tell you about his sanity?” he asked because he knew a lot of people were calling the Joker insane that out of all he villains, he was the one who belonged in the Asylum the most.

”He knows what he’s doing, he chooses to act the way he does and I know that by how quickly his mood changes. He may not be a hundred percent stable but that doesn’t meant everything he does isn’t done without his consent.”

”Now you understand him a little better?” he asked Bruce.

”Only a little but I won’t be able to predict him.” he stated pushing his food aside. “I know what Penguin wants, I know what Bane wants, I know what everyone else wants but him. He kept changing, first he wanted money, then he wanted to destroy skyscrapers, then he wanted to kill himself, then he wanted me to kill him, to destroy skyscrapers again, and then finally back to me killing him again. That was all within hours of each other Alfred, what am I supposed to do?” he asked having no idea of how to deal with Joker, no idea at all. Bruce wanted to formulate a plan, to help catch him but in the end it wouldn’t work. He can’t predict him and he won’t be able to predict him. He actually felt some truth in Joker’s words that night. _”You had a chance to let me die and you didn’t take it.” stated Joker before laughing. “I bet right now, you’re wishing you had.”_

Alfred moved Bruce’s food back in front of him so he would finish it. “You don’t have to predict him, he’ll be a hard villain to face, and every time he’s out, people will die. The only thing you’ll be able to do is keep him from killing everybody.” He hated telling Bruce that he wouldn’t be able to save everyone but there was absolutely no chance of that with Joker in Gotham now. “Joker is the villain you’ve been trying to keep away from Gotham but now that he’s here, he won’t leave.”

Bruce could definitely agree with that but once again those words rang in his head. _”You had a chance to let me die and you didn’t take it.”_ This time there was no one to blame but him, no one to beat up, but him and he couldn’t let Joker win. Even if he died keeping Joker from destroying the city, he would die for it. “I won’t let him win.”

”Very good sir.” nodded Alfred glad he wasn’t going to give up.

***

Bruce paid close attention to every news article and everything the thugs were saying for the next few nights. He wanted to know what Joker was doing, he needed to know. He didn’t expect to find anything so soon and that’s exactly what happened. There weren’t any leads and he couldn’t find a thug that was working for him yet. Bruce needed to stay calm as he continued to search for him while taking down other thugs and criminals to keep Gotham safe. A week soon passed and Joker fell out of the main headlines and stories, Gotham was getting comfortable but Batman was getting more nervous. He figured that if he stayed on alert then maybe whatever Joker had in store for Gotham next wouldn’t be so bad since he would be ready. It didn’t matter in the end, no one was ready when Joker showed himself again.

***

Joker really hated how he fell out of the news so he purposely hurried his plans so that they wouldn’t forget about him entirely. It wasn’t his first show in Gotham but he left a scar and it was time to reopen it. His plan was nearly done and he’d like to see what Batman would do when he attacked during the day. He gathered his men and let them head out first so they could set up before he got there. Joker looked at himself in the mirror and fixed his suit and hair before smiling widely. “What will you do Batman? Will you still come get me?” he asked the mirror before laughing loudly.

The thugs got to the hospital and when everyone was posted at the exits, the leader called Joker. “We’re going in now.”

The villain answered the phone and smiled. ”Get those sick people laughing.” he smiled wider before he hung up and headed out to get their guest.

At the hospital the thugs entered through all the exits on the first floor and began to gain control. Nobody outside the hospital knew what was going on right away because they all followed the plan as fast as they could, keeping the elevators from working and holding everyone on the first floor hostage. Joker had been keeping track of Vicki Vale’s schedule so he knew when he would be able to bring her with. He walked right up next to her as they were reporting on something he didn’t care about. It was easy to get right next to her because he came from the side and it was only Vicki and her cameraman. Joker wrapped his arm around Vicki pulling her close to him. “Hello darling, how about we take a stroll to Elliot Memorial Hospital?” he asked.

The cameraman instantly pulled away and nearly dropped the camera. Joker took out his gun and pointed it at the man motioning him back. “Come back here, I’m going to need you and Vicki here.” he smirked wrapping his other arm around the man’s shoulder. “We got a great story to cover.”

By the time that Joker got to the hospital it was completely under his control and his men had laid out the bombs. “Now, Vicki, please start a live broadcast.”

”I…I can’t.” she stuttered and was shaking as she tried to stay close to her cameraman.

”Oh, of course you can, you have the Joker and a hospital that’s about to blow!” he exclaimed throwing his hands in the air before pointing his gun at her. “Or maybe I should add a dead reporter on to that list?” he asked as his smile started to fade.

One of the thugs came towards the two journalists. “I would do it, he needs to stay smiling.” he whispered trying not to make it too obvious that he was helping them before he pushed the cameraman away. “Get that camera on.”

”Okay! Okay I can call them.” she exclaimed and fumbled in her pocket to get her phone out.

Joker smiled at that and moved behind Vicki to watch her dial the number. “Just want to make sure we’re contacting the right place.” he whispered into her ear making Vicki shiver again.

Vicki finally dialed her work and was really hoping that they’d answer. She was glad when it was picked up and couldn’t hold the terror back in her voice. “Please, I need…I need a live broadcast.” she pleaded.

”You can’t get me this time, we are already on the air with our popular show right now so-“ started to explain her boss. 

Joker grabbed the phone from her and shot his gun with the phone next to it. The man on the other side of the call pulled the phone away and heard a ringing in his ears before he heard Joker’s voice. “Now, I know you may have some bells going off in your head but I do not joke. You will put me on your channel now or I’ll start killing people.” he threatened.

”Joker?!” he asked in surprise because he thought he had left Gotham after Batman beat him so badly.

”Put me on the air, now.” he growled.

”Yes! I will, I just need a few minutes.” he quickly agreed and hurried downstairs to the control room to change the broadcast feed.

The cameraman was a little shaky as he turned his camera on and pointed it at Joker. “So, tell me when to start rolling.” he laughed. One of his thugs was watching the television in the waiting room where the hostages were and when he saw Joker on the screen he gave him the thumbs up. “Hello Gotham!” he greeted with a wide smile and walked closer to the camera. “It won’t be hard to guess where I’m at.” he stated as he moved aside for the cameraman to sweep the lobby, waiting room, and the front doors of the hospital.

Bruce was busy getting dressed after a shower and walked in to hear Joker’s voice. His eyes snapped to the television and then outside to make sure it was still daylight. “Alfred!” he shouted as he headed toward his room.

”I’m hoping that the Batman isn’t nocturnal and is able to see this.” continued Joker as he walked toward the front desk and motioned the cameraman to look behind it. Behind the desk was a bomb and Joker put his hand in front of the camera to show the device that controlled the bombs. “All it takes is for me to press this button and we all die.” he explained and set a finger on the button barely pushing on it. “Today we will test a theory. The Batman uses the cover of dark to take out criminals buuuuuuuut, is Gotham truly safe during the day? Can the police force do anything for these civilians?” he asked looking around for someone to answer before he shook his head. “No, no no no, I don’t think they can and the best part, Batman won’t show up.” he smiled grabbing the camera and threw it on the ground to cut the transmission.


	3. Beaten

Bruce knocked on Alfred’s door but there wasn’t an answer. He headed downstairs to the kitchen where Alfred was cooking and watching the news. “It doesn’t look good, does it sir?” he asked.

”No, how am I supposed to save those people? If I go there as Bruce Wayne, I can’t do anything.” he ranted as he walked over to turn it up.

There wasn’t any new developments yet but Alfred took a second to rest his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “He knew you couldn’t do anything so the best thing for you to do, is stay here so you don’t get caught.”

***

Joker walked around the hostages to make sure every single one of them knew how serious he was before going over to the front desk and sitting down next to the phone. The Batman hadn’t shown up yet so he was pretty sure he wouldn’t and now that he knew Batman wouldn’t show up, it wasn’t as fun anymore. He could hear the sirens finally arriving at the hospital and knew it would be only minutes before they called. The phone only rang once before he answered it. “Hello~! Are you wanting to save everyone in the hospital?” he asked.

The officer furrowed his eyebrows a little not used to someone answering the phone right away and asking questions without demanding anything. “Yes, that’s what we’re hoping to do. How many are there?”

”I don’t really care how many are there, they’ll all be dead soon.”

”Isn’t there something you want?” he asked quickly not wanting the hostages to die and he knew that Joker was being serious.

”I wanted the Batman but he would have been here already, saved the hostages, and had us all tied up for you to take back to prison. I guess he doesn’t work in the day time and your slow response time will kill people. You have twenty minutes.” he stated before hanging up the phone and jumping off the desk. “I believe it’s time for us to take our leave!” he yelled out to the thugs so they knew it was time to go. Joker didn’t bother waiting for the others as he left through one of the exits with his gun out to shoot any cops in the way. The cops were moving so slow that the very back entrance with the ambulances hadn’t been covered yet and he got inside of one of them to quickly drive away.

The cop that was on the phone turned toward the commissioner, “We have twenty minutes.” Everyone jumped into action to get the patients out of the hospital as quickly as possible and the bomb squad inside to look at the bomb behind the counter. The whole squad was focused on the one bomb when there were fifteen more of them around the hospital that they didn’t know about and couldn’t go find during the chaos of the evacuation. Twenty minutes was passing by very quickly and they had barely evacuated over half of the patients when there were a couple more minutes left. The bomb was really tricky for them but soon they found the way to shut it off but the top exploded open making the bomb squad jump back. It wasn’t a bomb, it was an elaborate Jack in the Box with a flag reading, BOOM.

”It wasn’t a bomb?” asked one of the nurses who walked by and saw them all jump. That was the last thing she said before the real bombs exploded destroying the hospital, killing all inside, and debris killing anyone who was still too close to the building.

Alfred and Bruce were watching the news very closely and Bruce kept looking at his watch and the television, about to give himself whiplash. He hated sitting here and not being able to do anything as patients filed out at a slow pace, nurses having to make sure they were a safe distance before going back inside, and still no confirmation that the bomb squad had stopped the bomb. Time went by a lot slower for Bruce but when there was a minute left, he stood up. “They’re not going to get, they need to get out of there.” he snapped right before the explosion happened. Bruce watched the screen as he slowly sat back down and put his head in his hands.

”Breakfast is finished.” announced Alfred as he set the plate on the table next to Bruce and turned off the television. “I’m sorry Master Bruce but not everybody can be saved.” he reminded him.

”Is there anything I can do during the day?” he asked Alfred.

Alfred shook his head as he got his plate ready and sat down next to him. “No, there isn’t anything you can do except be Bruce Wayne.”

”I’ll make him pay.” he promised since Batman could only come out at night.

***

Joker was glad to see that everyone had made it back to the warehouse. He really hoped that something more interesting would happen or Batman would still show up instead of just being a boring ordeal with the cops. The thugs stayed in their own area not wanting to get close to Joker or ask what they would be doing next. Nick was the first one back and he vouched for everyone not to go near him because he didn’t have a smile on his face. It was enough reason for everyone to stay far away and Joker continued to mull over the events and what he should do next.

There was no doubt in his mind that it was fun to show Gotham how during the day they were defenseless, no one would save them because the cops take too long to respond. He knew that he also proved that Batman wasn’t a force of nature, he was a human and in that, he was the person under the mask during the day. Joker had a quick thought of finding him, trying to figure out who he was but that would spoil the fun. No one knew his past so why should he figure out Batman’s past? Mystique was always the best aspect of a relationship. He giggled at the thought of Batman and him in a relationship where they could be intimate with each other. It only got funnier the more he thought about it and he began to cackle leaning back in his chair. “Even Batman has to laugh at that.” he said to himself before hearing footsteps.

”Joker?” asked Nick being brave enough now that he heard him laughing. “Is there anything else you want us to do?”

Joker tilted his head back farther to look at him without turning around. He was still giggling a little about Batman and him. “No, not yet but keep close, it won’t take long for me to draw out the Bat.” he smiled wider. Nick nodded before heading downstairs to let everyone know that they probably shouldn’t leave unless they absolutely had too. Joker knew that Batman was angry with his display today because there’s no way he wouldn’t know about the hospital exploding unless he truly lived in a cave. He knew the one thing that pissed off Batman the most was people dying. Oooooh, it was the best Christmas gift he could have gotten, meeting the Batman. He would recall on that night for a very long time because it couldn’t have gone any better.

_”You see, it’s tradition in my house to open one present each on Christmas Eve.” he nearly sang as he stepped over Batman and back around to the line of detonators on his table. He swung his arms open and waved his hand in a circle as he thought about what to open first. “Hmm…how about…” he smirked as he glanced over at Batman and then tapped one of the handles a few times. That got Batman’s attention and he looked up at him glaring. “This one?” he asked before pushing down on it and looking out the window. At first nothing happened but then the skyscraper across the way blew up causing the windows to shatter and Joker to dance on his tip toes. He focused back onto Batman taking a bow. “And a partridge in a pear tree!” he sang._

_Batman was lying on the floor complacent until that moment and he jumped up grabbing Joker by the collar and lifting him off the ground. “How many lives did you just take?!” he growled._

_”None…I think.” he laughed._ Joker spun around in his chair as he moved over to another desk where he had all of his information on the bat. He added to the list about not appearing in the day and would make sure to plan his events appropriately from now on. “Nick!” he shouted loudly getting up and heading out of his room.

***

Bruce watched the news for the rest of the day to see how people were reacting and how some of them were blaming Batman for not being there. Part of his MO was taking advantage of the dark and using it to help put fear into the minds of the criminals. He couldn’t protect Gotham during the day as Bruce Wayne like Batman can do at night. It was frustrating having two different identities and them being so different. Bruce worked out to pass the time wanting night to come quickly so he could find Joker and get him apprehended. He really wanted to get him off the streets and keep him from hurting other people that didn’t deserve it. Alfred tried to get him to calm down and rest for the night ahead but he had too much energy and too much worry about what else the clown could do before Batman could get out there.

Towards the end of the night he began listening in on the conversations the cops had and all he ended up hearing was about how much they hated Batman. Only few people talked about Joker, the ones that cared about catching him, like Gordon. There were still some people who believed that Joker and him were partners in crime and just the thought of it made him shiver. He knew Joker wanted him to kill and what if in some sick sort of way, he wanted Batman to be by his side. Bruce shook his head to get rid of the thoughts and quickly ate dinner. He then headed downstairs to suit up and go out to Gotham in search of Joker.

Alfred had no time to talk with Bruce since he was so focused on the news and police chatter. He wasn’t in that much of a rush to finish his dinner and took his time. He also cleaned everything up before heading to the Batcave glad that Bruce hadn’t tried contacting him yet. Alfred logged into the computer and sent a call out to Bruce.

”Yes Alfred?”

”How’s the search going?” he asked.

”Not good, I just keep finding Penguin’s thugs but I should be close to bringing him back in.” he answered but frustration was in his voice.

”You cannot rush into things sir, you don’t want to be caught with your guard down.” he reminded him.

”I’m fine Alfred.” he assured him and ended the call before jumping down on a group of thugs to beat information out of them.

Nick hated being the brave one because then he gets put as second in command which means he’s the main one to go out and do errands. He also hated being out at night because of the Batman and he wouldn’t let Joker know he was scared of him. Batman had thrown him into jail at least once by now and he didn’t see him coming. The idea that every shadow could be hiding Batman was scary and he could be thrown in jail in a heartbeat. He stopped to take a few breaths before shaking his head. “I’m fine, just go get what he needs and get back.” he whispered to himself and quickly hurried to the store.

Batman was preying on any thug he could find about information but it was only the ones that were causing crimes at the moment. He didn’t want to attack someone who was just out late and that’s when he came across another person walking by himself. He watched him closely and it looked like he just got done shopping. Nick stopped for a few seconds looking around because he felt like he was being watched. _Just don’t let it be the Batman, just don’t let it be the Batman._ He repeated that mantra in his head as he looked around and he couldn’t see anyone. That only made his nerves worse as he walked again but at a much faster pace.

Batman couldn’t find anything suspicious about him and didn’t blame him for being nervous at night. He let him go as he heard about a robbery at a convenience store and wanted to make sure no one got hurt. There was no chance it was Joker, he wouldn’t rob something so easy but just because Joker was out creating havoc didn’t mean he could ignore all the other crimes happening in Gotham.

Nick got back to the hideout and handed the bags over to Joker. “They had everything you asked for.” he assured him and Joker still opened them to look over everything. He almost wanted to tell Joker that he thought he was being followed for a bit but decided to leave it alone because he was afraid of what Joker would do.

”You can leave.” assured Joker looking at him with a smile to let him know he did good. Nick nodded and quickly left the room. He smirked widely as he took out each item to begin working on his plan for tomorrow night.


	4. Why Don't You Kill?

Bruce didn’t like how quiet Joker got that night and the next day. He tried his best to get sleep before the next night because he could only imagine what Joker was planning. It was hard but he did get a few hours of sleep in before nightfall and he barely had his suit half on before a voice came over the police radio. “Hello? Is this thing working?” asked Joker with a smile as he pulled Gordon closer to him. Bruce hurried to finish getting his suit on and wondered which cop he had. “I was hoping that I could get Batman to come join me at GCPD.”

***

Joker and his men showed up at GCPD and went through the front door because he knew how bad the police were. The police would rather listen to the mob boss or villain that is paying them off for information than worry about an attack. He only had a good fight after him and his men had killed about ten cops and they actually started to make his progress into the building difficult. His men had to take cover a few times and a couple of them even got killed before his hands were on Gordon. “Get out of here freak.” snarled Gordon as he tried to fight Joker off of him.

”No, I can see how you’re warming up to Batman, it’s not that hard and I have a feeling he’ll come save you.” smiled Joker before he hit him over the head to knock him out. “I want you guys to gather up the rest of the cops and throw them in the cells, if they’re dead, leave them there it’ll be a nice trail of breadcrumbs for Bats.” he laughed and pulled Gordon onto the chair to get him tied up.

***

Batman left the Batcave right after he heard where Joker was. He had a bad feeling of how any cops would be left alive by the time he got there and wondered if he should go through the front door. He walked up to it and put his ear on the door to listen and see if there were any thugs nearby. Joker gave the orders to at least let Batman in but after going past the front desk, it was open game. Batman opened the door and looked around carefully before he activated detective mode. He could see that they were waiting for him around the corner but he also noticed the dead bodies on the ground. His anger started to bubble up as he used the ceiling vents to get behind the first two thugs. He got out of the vent and came up behind the two thugs before slamming their heads together.

”So…has anyone seen the Bat yet?” asked Joker over their own radios. Everyone reported back to him except for the two he just knocked out. “Oh so he is here? Boys, you better be ready~.” he laughed loudly.

Batman went back up into the ceiling vents so he could continue taking out the thugs. He was taking it slow but as fast as he could so that nothing would happen to the cops that were still alive. He also didn’t like getting shot so it was a good thing he was doing so well at taking out the thugs without them spotting him. When he knocked out the last thug he followed the dead cops that were starting to point where to go. His frown deepened finding it sick that Joker would even do something like that.

Joker heard Batman coming and knew there was no way for Batman to get to him except for the hallway, he made sure of that. “You found the trail I left you?” he asked as he spun Gordon in a circle laughing at how the man closed his eyes trying to keep himself from getting too dizzy. “I’ve been having so much fun with him! He believes that you’re still the bad guy.” he stated pressing a gun to Gordon’s temple. “Now who’s the bad guy?” he asked before hitting him on the head so they could have a private conversation.

”What do you want now?” asked Batman keeping his distance from Joker. Out of all the cops, Joker had to find the one who was trying to do some good for Gotham to pick on.

”I don’t know what I want.” shrugged Joker as he moved to the other side of Gordon. “I wanted to find out more about Gordon and you but it didn’t tell me much other than he doesn’t believe in you like his daughter does. I find it crazy enough that anyone believes in you.” Joker set down his gun and sat on the desk. “What’d you think of the hospital? How many did I kill this time?”

Batman’s eyes narrowed and growled a little. “Too many.”

”Really? Well then I guess all these cops are overkill.” he smiled widely. That pushed him over the edge and he lunged at Joker throwing a punch at his jaw. This time instead of taking the hit Joker dodged to the right and a knife was suddenly in his hand to stab Batman. He noticed there were some parts the armor was separated and aimed for one of them. Batman quickly jumped away making the knife scratch his armor instead. He stood up straight watching Joker toss his knife from hand to hand. “Now it’s a real fight.” he smirked.

Joker quickly attacked him stabbing at his stomach and Batman slammed his arm down onto Joker’s. He then grabbed the smaller man and threw him at the wall. Joker’s breath left his lungs as he fell to the floor and the first breath of air he got he chuckled a little. Batman walked over to him to punch him in the face and the madman rolled to the side. He quickly kicked Batman’s legs to knock him off his feet and jumped onto him. Joker punched his face a few times before Batman could punch him back. The man on top laughed and grabbed Batman’s throat. Batman also grabbed Joker’s throat and both their grips tightened.

Batman kept tightening his grip along with Joker and Joker soon laughed but it sounded like gasps of breath more than laughter. “O-oh ho ho! Did I finally get you to a breaking point?” he forced out in between gasps. At first Batman didn’t let up, he just kept his grip but finally the words reached him and he instantly let go. Joker let go of Batman as well and set his hands on his shoulders. “You still won’t kill me? Even after all the cop murders and innocent people dying in a hospital?” he taunted and Batman shoved him off.

”Why didn’t you kill me?” he inquired.

”I don’t want to kill you Batman. I _need_ you.” he replied.

”Need me?”

”Ah-ah-ah! Too many questions for tonight.” he smiled snapping his fingers and out came a few more thugs with their guns trained on Batman. “Take out these guys as well for me.” he stated before he bowed and took off. Joker wasn’t done yet so he couldn’t be caught today.

Batman tried to go after him but Nick shot him. “You need to get through us first.” he ordered. He looked around at the enemies surrounding him and then dropped a smoke pellet. They all fired trying to hit him but they all missed. While the smoke was thick, Batman took out a couple thugs and then fought the rest until they were all knocked out. He tried to follow after Joker but the man was quick and he got away before he could get free of his thugs. Batman sighed and walked back inside to untie Gordon and tie up all the thugs so they wouldn’t be a problem if they woke up first. He headed back out to his Batmobile but someone else opened the door before him. He quickly scanned around the room for a place to hide but couldn’t find one in time.

Barbara Gordon was concerned about her dad because she hadn’t heard from him in a little while and had come to check on him personally. Batman was glad he got here before the teenager or else there could have been another dead body. “Batman?” she asked in surprise and began to smile. “I was hoping I’d see you again…” she started but then she realized why he would have been here. “Is my dad okay?” she asked trying to look around him but Batman blocked her view.

“He’s fine but you shouldn’t see what happened here.” he stated.

”I need to go see him.” she declared and pushed by him. Barbara tensed when she saw the bodies and had to take a few moments. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before stepping around the bodies to go find her father. Batman watched her closely and was glad she didn’t have to walk in on a dead parent, no one needed to experience that again. He left GCPD as quick as he could leaving the rest to Gordon.

Joker went back to his hideout to finish up his information on the Batman. Nowhere in his notes or mind did he ask who the man under the mask was. He didn’t need to know, he wanted Batman and he needed Batman. There was no reason to know who he was because if he did have family or something else to get to him, he wouldn’t bother with them. His game was Batman’s game and Batman’s game was his game. It was simple, no one else needed to participate. His men were loyal to him so the first chance he would get, he would get them out. They also knew that the plan was for them to get caught but at least they could kill a few cops while doing so. Joker wanted them to tell Batman, not the cops, cops are boring, where he was hiding. By how the cops hated Batman, he still had a few days for him to finish getting his hideout ready for Batman.

Batman got back home since there wasn’t anything else going on that night thanks to the Joker. Alfred was waiting there to make sure Bruce was okay and was glad to see him all in one piece and only a few bullets in his armor. “Who did he have?” he asked.

”Gordon and he’s fine but he lost about fifteen men.” he answered as he took off the cowl and looked at Alfred. The older man didn’t need to say anything because he could tell that something had happened to unsettle Bruce but it looked like he would actually talk about it instead of ignoring it. “I tried to kill Joker.” he admitted.

Alfred raised an eyebrow, “You tried too?”

”Yes, he killed that many people to leave a trail to find him and he was trying to kill me at the same time.”

”But you didn’t kill him did you?”

Batman nodded as he continued to take off the costume. “It was close though and if he didn’t taunt me I don’t know what would have happened.” he finished but Alfred could tell there was more to the story.

Alfred tried being quiet to see if Bruce would continue himself and when he started to walk away he stepped in front of Bruce. “Sir, is there anything else that happened that could be on your mind?” he asked.

Bruce didn’t answer right away as he remembered what he said and tried to figure out what it could mean. “He said he wouldn’t kill me, he even stopped when I stopped. He also said that he needs me.”

Alfred nodded at that thinking about how Joker said it. “I’m not sure what delusion Joker had before but I think you may be his new delusion.” he pointed out to Bruce.

”How?” he asked completely confused as to how Joker would set his sights on Batman.

”He said he needed you and he didn’t want to kill you. Maybe he feels that if Batman was done, he’d be done too?” he suggested.

Bruce frowned at that not too sure about Alfred’s logic and shook his head. “I don’t know but you could be right.”

***

All of Joker’s men were brought into questioning but no one spoke up about the Joker at all. No one was going to tell them where he was at until Nick was pulled into the interrogation room. He knew what was coming and he was ready for it. “Where is Joker?” asked Gordon.

”I’ll only talk to Batman.” he answered.

Gordon was glad someone finally spoke up yet it wasn’t what he wanted. “You’re not talking to Batman, you’re talking to me.”

Nick just shook his head, “I’ll only talk to Batman.” he repeated.

One of the other cops in the room with Gordon glared at him and got up to slam his head on the table. “You’ll talk to us!” he yelled at him.

Gordon quickly grabbed the arm of the cop and pulled him out of the room. “If you didn’t realize it, you don’t hit the person who’s willing to talk, let alone hit their head!” he snapped as he motioned for the cop to leave. “I don’t need you in here anymore.”

”We’re not going to let Batman in here are we? He’s obviously working with the Joker!” he exclaimed.

”I beg to differ with that thought. I don’t know why he saved the Joker but he saved me when Joker attacked last night. He’s the one that kept everyone from getting killed that night.” he glared tired of people bashing Batman even though his mindset of arresting the vigilante had started to change last night. If Batman hadn’t come to get Joker at the time he did, his daughter could have been harmed. “Now, leave him to me.” The cop shook his head and mumbled under his breath as he left to go on break. Gordon went back into the interrogation room and looked over the prisoner. “How’s your head?”

”I’ll only talk to Batman.” he repeated again.

Gordon raised his eyebrow, “Is that all you’re going to say until Batman is in here?”

Nick didn’t say anything this time hoping Gordon would realize that’s exactly what was going to happen.

”I can’t just bring the Batman in here.” he pointed out to him. Nick shrugged and leaned back in his chair. He wasn’t going against Joker’s order no matter how stupid the police force could be. “Let me guess, not your problem?” he asked shaking his head. Gordon had no idea how he was going to get Nick to talk but he had to make sure no one else would come in here and hit him anymore. His luck could even be bad enough that one of them would kill him. Whatever information he was willing to share, they had to figure it out soon. He had no idea how he was going to get it out of him though because he had no contact with Batman. It was ridiculous how loyal the thugs could be toward the villains in this town. Joker probably had his men in fear of what he would do. Gordon left the room and went back to his desk to think about how they could get him to talk about what he knows without Batman.

Barbara was still a little paranoid with Joker’s men in the precinct so she wanted to make sure things were still going okay and bring her dad some homemade lunch. She greeted some of the officers as she headed to her dad’s desk and set the food down in front of him. “Here you go dad.” she smiled.

Gordon smiled widely at that and looked at her. “Thank you Barbara.” he said as he looked through the bag to see what she had made him.

”Are Joker’s men giving you trouble?” she asked already knowing the answer but she wanted to make sure her dad wasn’t going to be in danger right away.

”You know I can’t talk about it.” he reminded her as Barbara sat down across from him crossing her arms. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

”Yes I do! If Batman didn’t show up there’s no telling what Joker could have done to you! You have his men in here, you can find out where he’s at and get him off the streets.”

Gordon sighed as he ignored his food for now. “I know that Barbara but we’re not getting anywhere. Just like all the other villains in this city, they’re loyal to him.”

Barbara frowned at the news and Gordon tried to let it go as he began to eat. “Can’t Batman get an answer out of them?” she asked quietly.

”No, he can’t because he’s not a cop, he’s not allowed in here.” he answered.

”But-“ 

”No, end of discussion.” ordered Gordon as he focused on his food.

Barbara sighed and got up from her chair. “Fine, I’ll see you later.” she said as she got up and wondered if there was a way to contact Batman herself to tell him about how the prisoners weren’t cooperating. She remembered how he needed to get into the criminal database and went out past the front desk so she could sit down in the waiting room. Barbara got out her laptop and opened it up to hack into the police system and see if Batman was still linked.


	5. Helping Hand

It didn’t take Barbara very long to get into the system and luck was on her side, she found a source connected to the telecom wires where she told Batman he could connect to the system. She smiled widely as she started to hack into that as well. Barbara was very impressed with the security that Batman had and wondered if he was smarter than her. Hacking into the Batcomputer took a lot longer than anything she had tried before but it couldn’t keep her out forever. When she was in she instantly began typing a message to Batman.

_Batman, this is Barbara Gordon. I helped you out before and I appreciate you for saving my dad. They can’t get Joker’s men to talk and I don’t know what’s going on exactly but I’m sure you can get them to talk. I know it’ll be hard to get back into the GCPD but they need your help whether they want it or not._

By the time Barbara sent her message the alert for the system being hacked finally went off. Bruce got the notification first and hurried down to the Batcave to find out what was going on. He logged into the computer and instantly looked for what the hacker was looking for but only got a message. Bruce furrowed his eyebrows as he opened the message. He read it slowly and could see why Barbara wanted to contact him but if she kept trying to help him, she’d get into trouble. Bruce was glad she told him what was going on and would find a way to get into GCPD tonight so he could get the thugs to talk.

***

Gordon couldn’t get anywhere with Nick by the end of his shift and paid close attention to anyone who wanted to come into the interrogation room. He would make sure they wouldn’t get very far while he was gone so that by the time he got back to work, he’d still have a prisoner. Nick was placed back in a different cell far away from the others and where nobody would find him right away. He was trying to hide him and keep him from getting hurt. “I can’t control my men overnight so you better hope that you’re still alive when I come back here tomorrow morning.” he warned him. Nick didn’t care what happened because if he died before he could deliver his message then at least Joker couldn’t kill him for not being able to relay it. He watched Gordon leave and turn off the lights to help further disguise where Nick was going to stay the night.

As Gordon was leaving work Batman jumped from the roof down next to him. Gordon jumped out of his skin as he backed away grabbing for his gun. He thought it was going to be Joker again and only calmed down when he realized it was Batman. “What are you doing here?” he hissed knowing he needed to bring him in but he could let it slide this time for saving his life.

”Joker’s thugs aren’t talking are they?” he asked trying to keep Barbara’s message a secret.

”No, why would they when they’re more scared of Joker.” he answered.

”They’ll be more scared of me.” stated Batman and Gordon wondered if he should really tell him, if he should really let him help. He knew that he saved Joker it was still hard to figure out why in the world he would even do that because if he just let him die, there wouldn’t be any of this chaos now. “I need an answer for a question but I won’t ask it now. There’s a prisoner, toward the back of the cells with the lights off. I’ve been trying to keep him safe so the other cops wouldn’t kill him. He wants to talk to you and only you.” he explained the situation and Batman was glad he got Barbara’s message.

Batman nodded and began to go inside of the building but then looked back at Gordon. “I’ll answer your question when you’re ready to ask.” he assured him before he went inside of GCPD to find Nick.

Gordon was glad to hear he would answer his question and hoped that whatever he found out, he’d at least share it with the police. He had a feeling that Batman wouldn’t but it was a nice thought. The deputy yawned and headed home so he could get a good night’s rest now that he knew the information wouldn’t be lost.

Batman snuck around GCPD through the usual vents going toward where Gordon said he tried hiding Nick. He could hear some of the cops wishing they could beat up the prisoner and get the information out the hard way. A couple of them even said they should just kill him and Batman wouldn’t let that happen. He felt bad for Gordon not being able to trust the cops that worked with him but at least he was trying his best to work around it. He soon had to turn on his detective vision as he got to an area with the lights off and saw one body standing alone. It still had a heartbeat so that meant the other cops hadn’t found him yet and got out of the vents to go in front of the cell. “Tell me what you know.”

Nick jumped at the sound of the voice and recognized it right away as he turned to look at Batman. He couldn’t see him thanks to the dark but he knew it was him. “Hello Batman, about time you finally got in here. I thought the cops would kill me before you could find out where Joker is hiding.” he smiled widely glad that he could get rid of his information before he was killed.

”Where is he hiding then?” he asked.

”Well, the problem here is that I can’t give it to you tonight. Joker needed one more day before everything was ready for you.”

Batman could see how close he was to the bars and he was far enough away to stay out of his reach. He took off his Batclaw and shot it at Nick through the bars to pull him closer. Nick shouted a bit when he was grabbed and put his hands out so he wouldn’t hit anything. Batman had other plans though and when he was close enough he grabbed Nick’s head and pushed him against one of the bars. Nick grunted in pain and tried to pull away but was only pushed harder. “Tell me where Joker is.” he demanded.

Nick felt like his jaw was going to break if he tried to talk and shifted trying to get free. “I can’t.” he forced out feeling his face hurt more as he tried to talk.

Batman let him go and Nick instantly pulled away rubbing the side of his face. “Tell me where he is or it’ll hurt worse.

”You can’t do worse than what Joker will do.” laughed Nick as he shook his head. “He told me about you and we all know, you won’t kill us, you won’t kill him.”

”Tell me what you know!” he yelled and reached for Nick again to slam him against the bars.

Nick wondered if the boss was starting to get to him because he laughed at how Batman was trying so hard to be scarier than Joker. “He’s not afraid of you and I’m not afraid of you. So you better just sit down and wait until closer to dawn before I give you his location.” he smirked.

Batman didn’t want to look like he was bending to the wishes of a criminal but he wasn’t getting anywhere with him. “If you tell me now, I won’t go. I can’t hang out here all night, most of the cops hate me.” he pointed out.

”So your other half doesn’t go and tattle on the cops the first chance he gets, he wanted you to know that he will let them in but they’ll be dead in one explosion.” he explained so Batman knew that no matter what he did, Joker was in control of this situation and he had to listen to him.

”Fine.” he growled hating how he had to agree but he needed that information.

”The abandoned hotel, south of Crime Alley.” he told him.

Batman didn’t wait for him to say anything more and left the precinct so he could go scope out the building. He wanted to make sure that if he didn’t go in tonight that if he told the cops the next day where he was they wouldn’t die. He jumped around the building looking at everything and using his detective mode. He couldn’t really see any threats but it didn’t mean that there was nothing inside. Batman jumped down in front of the building and looked over the door. He knew he should go inside and take care of Joker now or at least tell Gordon what he learned. If he didn’t tell him there was a chance that he would stop warming up to him. He grappled up to a building and left to go home. Maybe he was scared of what Joker would do if he went against what he wanted and maybe the easiest way to get to Joker was to play his game.

***

Bruce didn’t talk to the cops the next day at all because he didn’t need any more people dying by the hands of Joker. He wanted to tell them so Gordon wouldn’t be angry with him but it was for the better. He didn’t talk to Alfred very much the next day as he tried to think of what Joker would have in store. Would he try killing him even though he said he didn’t want too? Would he not be there? Or would he try capturing him? He was starting to think that he did something wrong as night got closer. Bruce should have told Gordon, he should have just gone inside, and he should tell Gordon tonight so that he has someone with him just in case something went wrong.

”Alfred, I’m going to Joker’s hideout tonight.” he stated after he had eaten dinner.

”You are? How’d you find out where he was?”

”I went into GCPD last night and talked with one of the thugs who told me where Joker was.” he explained hoping Alfred wouldn’t pry too much into the details.

Alfred nodded and grabbed his plate so he could go clean up. He paused before he entered the kitchen and looked at Bruce. “If I lose contact with you, I’m going to call Gordon.” he announced before disappearing into the kitchen.

Bruce sighed and hoped that nothing would go wrong to the point that he needed help. He headed to the Batcave and got himself ready. There was something unsettling him about the situation he was going to walk into. Usually he was prepared for a trap and didn’t feel uneased at all but this time it was different. He didn’t know what made it so different, nonetheless he had to go and he had to try and catch him. The whole time he was heading over to the building he was trying to control his nerves that everything would be fine. It didn’t help and by the time he got to the building and out of his Batmobile the front of the building had changed.

Joker had been hard at work to make sure everything was ready for Batman and just so Batman knew he was ready, he saved the front of the building for last. He also wanted to make sure that nobody else would try to enter the building so he waited until nightfall to finish the last touches. On the front of the building, above the door in neon color lighting read, _Welcome Batman!_

Batman stared at the sign longer than he should and to make sure no one else would try coming into the building, he hit every letter with a batarang so that it wouldn’t attract attention anymore. He then walked inside of the building ready to face the Joker by himself.

The building looked normal at first but as he got to a set of stairs things began to look different. Up the stairs there was green spray painted arrows showing the way and the hallway had some joker teeth and a present box halfway down. Batman decided to go down the hallway first destroying the joker teeth as he passed and when he got close to the present, it exploded and out came three more joker teeth. His glare darkened before he destroyed the teeth and continued down the hall trying the doors. Nothing would open and it didn’t look like there was anything else to find. At least the present didn’t have a bomb or dead person inside of it. He walked back toward the stairs and followed the green arrows.

”About time you showed up.” smiled Joker at the end of the hall. “I know there isn’t much to this place but I hope you enjoy it all the same.” Joker waved at him before walking away not too worried about Batman catching up to him quickly.

Batman tried to run after him and barely stopped before a trap. He bent down to examine the string and backed up a bit before throwing a batarang. The line snapped and from above opened the roof and swung down an axe exactly at his height. He stepped back farther to let it swing until it was done moving and went over to pull it down to make sure it wouldn’t swing anymore. He then continued down the hall a little slower than before so he could keep an eye out for any more booby traps. There was more spray paint along the way, sometimes the arrows would branch off into a room but he would just take a peek before ignoring it. Sometimes there would be the face of Joker or _HAHA_. Batman could tell that Joker had a lot of fun defacing the property he was hiding in and for the most part there weren’t a lot of traps. There were a couple more present boxes except the last one had a boxing glove that nearly hit him. He was getting tired of the bad scares and he felt like he had to be going in circles. Eventually he came to a room at the end of the hall and he opened it up slowly.

Joker was sitting on his chair watching the door and a wide smile appeared on his face. “I’m so glad you didn’t die on the way here.”

”I thought you didn’t want to kill me.” he reminded him.

”It wouldn’t have been my fault if you fell for the trap.” he pointed out and looked him up and down glad to see that he didn’t get hurt with anything he laid down for him. “Did you like my fun house?” he asked.

”No.”

”Not even a little bit?” he asked holding his hand up and almost had his forefinger and thumb touch.

”No.” he answered and lunged at Joker who held up a remote and pushed the button.

Batman was ready for the explosion except the floor beneath him disappeared and he fell a couple floors. Joker suffered the same fate a few seconds after him other than he was ready for it and when he looked up at the other man, there was reflection of the both of them. “Come get me Batman.” he provoked waving at him.

Batman was tired of his game and punched at the glass nearly breaking his hand. All the glass was blast resistant which was perfect since Batman couldn’t punch through it or use any gadget. Joker thought ahead with everything and now he was stuck in a mirror maze trying to get to the madman. His glare would have melted the glass if it had the ability and made Joker cackle as he watched Batman navigate through it. Batman couldn’t wait to get his hands on Joker and throw him into the asylum himself. He was tired of his games and after a few minutes of not getting anywhere close he pulled out his explosive gel. Joker shook his head at him and at first didn’t listen to him. However he had a feeling he was shaking his head for a reason and put it away.

Joker gave him a thumbs up glad he wasn’t going to waste it and continued to watch him struggle through the maze. It was hilarious to him and every time he reached a dead end he would laugh loudly pissing Batman off more. By the time Batman finally got near Joker he grabbed his head and slammed it into the glass. Joker laughed loudly as he struggled to stand up and Batman grabbed him by his collar to slam him against the glass again. “You’re going back to the asylum.” he growled.

”Okay, okay!” he agreed sticking his hands up in the air. Batman furrowed his eyebrows at how easily he was giving up and Joker only smiled wider. “Come on Bats, I had so much fun humiliating you why wouldn’t I give in easily?”

Batman was completely done at that point and punched him in the head to knock him out. He carried Joker out of the maze and to the Batmobile before taking him to GCPD in handcuffs. He didn’t go inside, he dropped him off in front of the building and let Gordon and his men take care of Joker from there.


	6. Arkham Asylum

Joker had a very, very rude awakening when his head was slammed into the door when one of the cops saw him sitting on the steps unconscious. He rather would have liked to keep dreaming about what he would do next when he got out again but the cops haven’t learned. He shook his head a little as he was picked up and shoved toward the cells. There was no time to catch himself as he fell right back to the ground. He smiled a little as the cop came around and grabbed his suit to pull him up. “Get on your feet.” he ordered.

”Is your pride hurt because Batman can carry me over his shoulder and you’re left to pushing me around in hopes I’ll listen to you?” he asked with a wide smile and the cop punched him.

Joker laughed loudly and that caught his men’s attention. They tried to look out their cells toward the sound of the laugh but they didn’t get very far. “Batman even punches harder than you.” he continued to mock the policeman.

The cop pulled him back up and pushed him in front of the first batch of cells where Joker’s men watched him carefully. “How about I show your men what happens to their boss when he can’t shut his mouth?” he asked. He went to kick Joker who grabbed his foot and twisted it, breaking his ankle. The cop screamed in pain as he fell to the floor.

”Joker! Joker! Joker!” shouted the thugs making sure everyone in the precinct knew that something was going wrong. Even Gordon could hear it and he was just getting clocked in for work.

Joker bent down to wrap his cuffs around the cop’s neck and pull him up to face his men. “Next time we’re out, we kill him first.” he smiled widely and the men all agreed. He let go of the cop just as Gordon and a couple other men were coming in. “He wanted to roughhouse a bit but I didn’t think he realized I would win.” he smirked as two cops grabbed his arms and Gordon led the way to get Joker processed. “You know, I’ve already been in here once you shouldn’t have to do this all again.” he stated. “I have no fingerprints and my face is too beautiful to change.”

Gordon ignored everything joker said as they finished their job and got him into the police car to take him to Arkham Asylum. Joker knew exactly where he was going when he wasn’t put in a cell and he didn’t like it. The asylum was full of idiots who thought if they poked and prodded him he would suddenly change for the better. There was nothing wrong with him, he was completely sane and he hated talking to shrinks.

It was pretty obvious that Joker was thinking about something, it made him uncomfortable and Gordon hoped that it wasn’t about trying to escape. Gordon kept glancing back at him and soon Joker spoke up. “If you want a picture, I’ll be happy to pose.” he smiled widely.

”No, I was just wondering why you were so quiet.” he stated even though he wouldn’t get an answer out of him.

Joker was in a good mood though and leaned forward. “I’m thinking about how I humiliated Batman, killed cops, killed patients, possible killed your whole bomb squad, and how to escape the asylum next. I can’t do the same thing, it’d be too boring so I need to think of something even better.” he laughed at how Gordon looked back at him when he mentioned escaping the asylum.

”You won’t escape.”

”Watch me.” he whispered through the cage watching Gordon shiver a little and laughed loudly.

There was a doctor, a nurse and a guard waiting for Gordon as he pulled up to the asylum. The guard reached up to his radio and told the people waiting inside that they had arrived so that they could bring out upright gurney and a couple more guards. Joker stepped out of the car before Gordon could reach in to help him and smiled widely. “Did everyone miss me?” he asked.

Glares from the guards was all the answer he needed as the handcuffs were taken off and shoved up against the gurney to have his wrists and ankles shackled. “Do you guys have him from here?” asked Gordon.

”We do, we just have to do our own checkups and he’ll be back in his cell.” answered the doctor as the group headed inside of the asylum.

”Bye bye Gordon!” smiled Joker before the door was closed. Joker was glad he could have a good talk with Gordon before he was dropped off and looked around to see if they changed the security at all. So far it looked like there wasn’t anything added but it would be impossible to upgrade it when he was out for a little over a week.

”Don’t even think about it.” warned Cash as he walked out of the security office watching the nurse check on Joker’s physical status.

”Think about what?” he asked with a small smile.

”I see you looking around, we know how you got out last time, we’ll stop you from doing it again.” stated Cash.

”I’d like to see you try.” he smiled wider before laughing loudly at how everyone got tense at the idea of him planning another escape.

”Get him to his cell.” ordered Cash and no one argued it as they walked to get Joker locked away.

The guards were a lot more forceful as they pushed him into his cell and he saw the Arkham outfit sitting on the bed. “Change into those.”

Joker smiled widely at that and motioned to the pile of the clothes that was on the bed. “Change into these?”

”Yes.” he growled.

”Okay, okay I will but do you want to watch me?” he asked and the guard only turned around to face the other way. Joker shrugged and changed into the clothes giving his suit up again. He wondered if he could play nice and they would still trust him like they did the first time.

The guard turned around and then inspected Joker’s suit to make sure he didn’t keep anything. “Your sessions will start up again tomorrow morning.” he announced before he left Joker alone in his cell.

Joker got comfortable on the cot since he knew he would be there for a while, maybe even longer than he was the first time around. He was already thinking about how he could escape next and remembered Harley. That was the one good thing about being back in the asylum. Harley made him feel normal when he was surrounded around people that kept saying he was crazy. He is always in control of what he did and there was never someone else controlling him. By the way the guards looked at him he had a feeling that this time around his stay would be different. Last time he was pretending to get better and pretending to care about the therapy. Everyone knew he was good at lying and would be harder to control. That was okay though, he loved a challenge and if it wasn’t complicated it wasn’t fun.

Sleep was a little rough for him because the cots were not comfortable and probably the same ones that were issued when the place opened. Joker also noticed through the disaster of a building the name Wayne on a lot of the technology. He knew who that was after he asked one of the doctors and they were more than happy to tell them about the rich pretty boy. The billionaire had no time to spare for anyone yet apparently had time for the crazies in Arkham Asylum. Bruce Wayne didn’t need to worry about them when he had enough to buy happiness and maybe even buy out loneliness. However he wasted some of that money trying to cure people like him which was a huge waste of time. He had to get good publicity for trying to keep the sane separated from the insane because that was the only thing that made sense to him. Joker didn’t know how much money he put into the asylum but it definitely wasn’t going toward the patients. p>

Amadeus made sure that the visiting area and the front looked beautiful but passed that was a decaying building, one small explosion from crumbling to the ground. It was a place to forget about their crazy loved ones, lock away the people who laugh too much, and keep the dirty secrets of Gotham out of the away. The people of Gotham were learning fast that they couldn’t hide everyone and while Batman was around, more people like the Joker would be born. A man in a bat suit can’t change the world, all Batman can do is continue applying the band aid and hope the asylum can fix the problem. He wasn’t scared of Batman, he needed Batman, he was the reason he had so much fun in Gotham.

Joker was ready when the guards came to get him and was glad that Harley would still be his shrink. He was transported on the gurney to Harley’s office and he smiled widely when he was unlocked. “Thank you for the wonderful escort.” he said as Harley opened the door.

”Hello Mr. Joker, I’m glad to see you back.” she smiled widely and let him inside before closing the door. “You know I only meant it because I can see you right?” she asked needing to make sure that he knew she hated him being locked away.

”Of course I do Harley, you’d get me out of here today if you wanted.” he assured her and set his hand on hers after she took a seat. “Now, what will be my treatments this time?”

Harley didn’t look too happy when he brought it up and flipped through his file. “They want to start putting you on medication on top of the therapy with me.” she answered softly.

Joker had a feeling they would pump him full of drugs but he still didn’t want it or at least have Harley give it to him so that they could pretend he was getting it. “Are you giving them to me?”

”No.”

”What are they?” he growled and his eyes narrowed.

”They are also going to put you in isolation, they just need to prep the cell.” she stated as she looked for the medicine. Joker didn’t care about the cell and he drummed his fingers on the table becoming impatient. It was really hard to concentrate when she heard his patience running thin but found the correct page before he could get really angry. “Lithobid for your bipolar disorder and more talk therapy for your multiple personality disorder. I didn’t diagnose you for these, it was the other doctors looking over my work.” she explained not wanting to be blamed for something she would never push onto him.

”I don’t think they realize that the medicine will be different with me.” he stated leaning back in his chair.”

”Maybe if you tell us your past…” tried to offer Harley but Joker slammed his hands on the desk. “Or not.” she quickly corrected herself leaning away from him.

Joker was glad she understood and stood up. “I believe this session has run its course.”

”Of course Mista J.” nodded Harley and led him out. She helped get Joker back on the gurney and back to his cell.

Joker thought about how he could avoid taking the pills and was unsettling the guards that dropped him off by how quiet he was being. One even lingered after the bars closed and Joker looked over at him tilting his head a little. The guard still didn’t move and he lunged at the bars yelling, “Boo!” That got the guard jumping back and raising his gun. Joker laughed loudly as he sat on his cot and fell onto his back from how hard he was laughing. “No wonder it’s so easy to take down the guards, they’re all little scaredy cats.” laughed Joker and barely stopped before a nurse was at his cell. “Why are you here?”

”I’m here to give you, your medicine.” she stated setting the pills and water on the ground.

”I’m not taking it.”

”You have too.”

Joker put his hand up with his forefinger extended, “No, no and no.” he smiled moving his finger back and forth. “You know from last time I don’t want to get better, what makes you think I want to get better now?”

The nurse shifted on her feet a little not sure of what to do. “You need to-“

Joker got up quickly and grabbed the pills and the nurse pulling her up against the cell. “I don’t need to take any medicine but it looks like you do.” he smirked quickly moving his hand to her jaw and pushing his fingers into her cheeks. The nurse struggled but she couldn’t get free or get him to let go of his hand as he put the pills into her mouth. Her eyes widened as she choked a little trying to keep the pills from going down her throat and now his other hand was free so he grabbed her uniform. She kept struggling but she still couldn’t get free and soon swallowed the pills. It all happened within a few minutes, too fast for a guard to come and get her away before Joker let her go. “Ah look at that! She took my pills.” he pouted for a few seconds as the guard shot a glare at him before he giggled softly and broke into loud laughter a few seconds later. He sat down on his cot continuing to laugh as he thought about how the nurse would be feeling later.

Only ten minutes passed before a guard and a doctor came to his cell. They opened it up and Joker put his hands behind his head as he watched them. “We’ve added more medication to your file after what you did.” stated the doctor and the guard grabbed his arm and threw him on the ground. Joker tried to get up so he could keep the medicine away from him but the guard stepped on his head putting pressure on it. He still fidgeted and grabbed at the guard’s leg. He was going to put up one hell of a fight but a few more guards came in to help pin him to the ground so the doctor could push a needle into his neck. Joker froze and watched the doctor pull away motioning for the guards to leave. “Enjoy your nap.” he smiled widely.

”What did you give me?” he growled as he got up from the ground and tried to lunge at the doctor who stepped farther away from him.

”You’ll find out.” he smiled wider and left Joker alone in his cell as his toes and fingers began to feel numb.

Joker clenched his fingers and toes trying to keep the blood flowing but the numbness continued through his body. He barely got over to his cot as his whole body was too exhausted to keep him on his feet and fell onto it. His breathing picked up a bit as he realized what they had given him but no matter how much his mind fought, his body gave up and he soon fell asleep.

The doctors, guards and nurses were so happy to have some peace and quiet when Joker was finally out of it and added the sedative to his file. While Joker was out they continued to prep his cell in the new wing they were making, Maximum Security. They also were trying to figure out ways they could give Joker his pills without him knowing since he obviously didn’t want any medication. No matter how hard Joker fought this time around, they were going to fix him.


	7. Medication Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy today was interesting. I finished the chapter earlier on and sent it to a friend to ask about the insecurities I had portraying the sedative. Luckily I did too because before I edited the chapter to post, my computer blue screened, crashed and deleted half of it. I'm glad that it turned out okay and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. I am also sad to say that the updates may slow up, I'm beginning college again on Monday so please stick with me, I'm feeling good about this story and will finish it~.

Joker fought himself awake every second as he was asleep and soon he could open his eyes. He struggled to move other parts of his body but his muscles were lagging. When he tried to move his hand his finger would move a second later. He growled a little as he continued to fight the drug and get his body moving. Even when he could sit up his body still didn’t move correctly and he ended up falling off the cot. Harley was checking up on Joker every hour and refused to go home because she was worried about him. She walked up to the cell just as she heard a thud and her eyes widened. “You’re awake.”

”How long?” he asked sitting up and still working the drug out of his system.

”Twelve hours…I think they gave you too much.”

Joker shook his head and didn’t bother saying anything about it. They might have given him the right dose but since he had an accident before coming to Gotham medicine didn’t affect him the same. “Have you heard if this will be a regular thing?” he asked.

Harley nodded a little, “They’re going to give it to you when you attack people and get too loud.”

Joker laughed a little and was able to stand up. “So making me sleep is fixing me?” he asked laughing louder and went over to the bars. “Be a darling and start giving me the newspaper every day. If I’m going to have my own cell and sleep most of the day I don’t think I’m going to be getting a lot of news from patients.” Harley smiled widely at that and left him alone so she could subscribe to the newspaper. When she left he looked around wanting to get at the doctor that gave him the sedative. He didn’t care if he acted out or was too loud, they wouldn’t get anywhere with him.

***

Apparently nobody cared about checking on him as he sat in his cell and kept his mind busy by thinking about Batman. He was pretty sure that Batman was bored out of his mind without him making his life fun and promised the vigilante that he would be out soon. Joker felt like he was being watched and looked toward the bars. Amadeus was standing there and watching him. He had seen the man a couple times but he looked just as unstable as the patients. “Hello Mr. Owner!” he smiled widely.

Amadeus didn’t say anything as he looked over the clown and found him disgusting. He attacked a nurse yesterday and he was sitting there smiling. The sedative that was given to him finally wore off and he wasn’t bothered by how long he was out over a normal dose. He hoped that he would be out longer than that. “Tell me why you laugh.”

Joker raised an eyebrow and stood up from his cot. “Why I laugh? Are you going to be one of the new doctors to talk to me?” he asked excitedly as he walked up to him. “Why I laugh?” he asked again grabbing his chin and giving it some serious thought. Amadeus knew he wasn’t going to get an answer just by the way Joker was acting. “I laugh because I remember all the people I kill and how easy it is to end someone’s life.” he smiled widely.

”If you don’t take this seriously we’ll have to do more extreme treatments.” he stated but he was really talking about punishing Joker.

”Oh do your worst Amadeus, I’ll still come out laughing.” he smirked. Amadeus didn’t say anything as he walked away and Joker watched him until he couldn’t see him anymore. He giggled a little wondering what could be running through the man’s mind on what he wanted to do with him. Every time his medicine was handed to him he would just toss it in the toilet and flush it. The doctors didn’t do much other than keep bringing the pills until the same doctor from yesterday came back. He had a needle in his hand and Joker was ready for him. “I thought I’ve been a good boy.” he pouted.

The doctor shook his head, “You didn’t take your medicine all day.”

”I don’t see a reason for me to take medicine that I don’t need.” he stated keeping his distance from the bars.

”It doesn’t matter we know you need it and it will help with your recovery. If you don’t listen to us you’ll be punished.”

Joker smiled widely at that and stepped closer to him. “Oh but can I pick the punishment?” he asked. The doctor was a little thrown off by his participation but then figured out it was part of his narcissistic needs. “Electric shock therapy or maybe even a lobotomy.” he cackled and continued to laugh until his stomach hurt a little.

The doctor waited until he was fully done with his fit before he spoke up again. “We don’t do those things.”

”Really?” he asked shocked. “I swore I could have seen a patient recently smelling of smoke with Amadeus in tow.”

”He hasn’t been doing anything like that.” stated the doctor even though he could be. Everyone in the staff had suspicions about Amadeus and they even began to keep an eye on him because of it. They wouldn’t blame him if he was becoming unhinged since his family was murdered by an inmate that ended up dying in front of him from an “accident” and the way he reacted to some of the inmates. He tried his best not to show Joker his own concern for the owner as he lifted the needle up. “This is your punishment.”

”Good luck administering it.” he winked moving to sit on the cot and wait for him to come into his cell. The doctor didn’t come alone as he motioned for two guards to help him. He opened up the cell and the guards went straight for the Joker. They weren’t going to give him a chance to stay still and grabbed at him. Joker quickly attacked them punching one of them in the head and dodging the other. He had a second to grab the doctor’s arm and twist it. It broke and made him drop the needle so he could step on it and broke it. The guards pushed him to the ground at that point and Joker only laughed. “Looks like your luck ran out Doc!”

One of the guards pulled out another needle and inserted it into his neck. He didn’t care where he hit it and wasn’t too worried about what would happen if he didn’t do it right. Joker’s eyes narrowed and he struggled again but once the fluid was gone from the needle the guards got up. They both helped the doctor up and got him to the infirmary leaving Joker behind to fight back onto the cot. He gripped the edge of the cot tightly to pull himself up and barely got on before his body gave up. If he was going to be injected with it every day there was a chance of him ending up dead one of these times. Death didn’t scare him too much but knowing that Batman would be bored without him made him start to think he should avoid getting the shot another way other than fighting it.

Amadeus waited an hour for the sedative to be fully kicked in for Joker and went to his cell excusing all the guards on the way. He assured them that he would be fine since Joker was knocked out cold and unlocked Joker’s cell to pick him up. It wasn’t hard because Joker’s body was pretty thin and small for being a man that could take one hell of a beating and be able to bring it back just as much. He carried Joker to his room so he could take care of him and tied him up to the chair before he gave him a dose of Romazicon.

Joker still took a few minutes before he began to shift and fight against his binds until he could open his eyes. He looked around and spotted Amadeus before he laughed lightly. “I’m guessing it’s my turn for your electroshock therapy? Do I know too much?” he asked.

”I don’t care what you know Joker, it’s time for you to get better. On the days you don’t take your medicine I’ll be giving you my punishment, not a sedative.” he explained as he put the patches on Joker.

Joker leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I was hoping Batman would do the same thing to me, let me fry in an electrocution chair for all the people I killed. He didn’t let it happen of course and it’s a shame, I believe he would have liked it.”

”You have quite an obsession with Batman, I always hear about him at least once a day.” stated Amadeus as he finished hooking Joker up and went to turn the machine on.

”If only you knew Amadeus.” smiled Joker as he looked at him and was surprised when he saw Harley coming up behind him.

Harley had heard Joker was under a sedative again and wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him while he was unable to fight back. She watched as Amadeus took him to a secret room and quickly found a weapon, which happened to be a pipe, and came back. Her anger was boiling over as she heard and saw what he wanted to do to him so when he turned his back she was quickly running up behind him. The older man never knew what was coming before she swung the pipe and hit him over the head knocking him out with one blow. “No one hurts him.” she declared and hit Amadeus one more time for good measure.

”Harley! I always knew you were a strong cookie.” smiled Joker widely as she turned back toward him to get him free.

”I’m sorry for taking so long.” she said softly and helped him to his feet making sure he was steady before she pulled away again. She liked the contact with him but never had the guts yet to do it herself since they only knew each other as patient and doctor so far.

Joker looked her over slowly and realized that she would be nice to have around more often. There when he was in trouble and not afraid to get her hands dirty because of it. He grabbed her chin and lifted her face up to kiss her lightly. Harley never expected any affection from him but the moment he offered, she took it. She pressed her body against his and deepened the kiss quickly. Joker smiled before he had to pull away and laugh. “Not so shy anymore eh?”

”No, I’ll never be shy around you again.” she answered grabbing his hand. “I need to get my damsel back to his cell.”

”Oooooh, well then I’m glad I gave you a kiss as a thank you before you had to leave again.” he stated playing the part and it made Harley laugh a little.

Harley’s night couldn’t have gone any better and once Joker was back in his cell she had to go report Amadeus. The guards that he relieved to take a break was on her side and a very awake Joker two hours after he was given a sedative that should have lasted six more hours was all the evidence they needed. Amadeus was soon thrown into a cell of his own to start his therapy and Joker was given a small vacation from medicine and sedatives for a couple of weeks. Harley made sure of it since the owner himself had almost killed her patient and the strain that would be put on him was enough.

During the two weeks they began to find a replacement for Amadeus and Harley tried her best to get the medication taken off his record but could only manage the bipolar medicine since Amadeus pushed for it to be put on his file in the first place. She also made sure Joker got the paper every day like he requested and the day before his therapy sessions started up again his cell was done.

Joker wasn’t going to lie, he was excited to see what kind of security they would put up just for him. They traveled a little farther than he expected but soon came upon the Maximum Security Wing. There were other cells in progress just in case there were more people like Joker. He noticed how they were making the others and knew what his would be like before they had him face it. They put in a glass wall which he assumed was so he wouldn’t be able to attack anyone as they gave him food and other things.

One of the doctors was explaining the differences in the cell and how things would work like he wouldn’t be able to figure it out himself. Joker just tuned her out as he walked into the new cell and noticed that he had a better looking cot. He instantly went over and sat on it finding that it was indeed a newer one that didn’t cave in to his weight. They locked the door and left him alone so he could get acquainted with his cell. “I can’t wait to see what else they will do for security.”

Harley waited until everyone was far away before she approached the cell and put the newspaper in the compartment for Joker. “Mista J, I have your news.” she smiled widely and Joker smiled when he looked toward her.

”Thank you my dear.” he said as he got up and grabbed the paper. “Is there anything of interest today?”

”Actually, it won’t be hard to find.” she said and Joker looked at the paper before his eyebrows rose. “You told me before that you’re not sure why Bruce Wayne cares about the asylum but it looks like he really has a reason.”

On the front of page of the paper complete with a picture of Bruce Wayne was a story about the billionaire wanting to throw a charity event for the asylum. Joker moved back over to the cot never letting his eyes leave the paper as he read the story. Harley could see he was completely engrossed and left him be so he wouldn’t be disturbed.

_Bruce Wayne made a small press conference outside of his home explaining that he was setting up a charity event for Arkham Asylum this morning. He talked about the need to make sure that the patients had what they needed for their help and more security to help keep ones that wanted to escape inside._

Joker had to laugh at that finding it pretty funny that Bruce generalized it when the one person everyone thought of when it came to escaping was him. The article just gave more details about the event which he couldn’t attend so he threw the paper aside not needing anymore news. He had a feeling that the money Bruce could raise would bring a new look around every corner of the asylum if the money actually made it. His eyes wandered back over to the paper and he picked it up again to look at the picture. He’d be lying if he said Bruce wasn’t appealing to the eye but it wasn’t really the attraction that made him look again. Bruce’s face was familiar to him somehow and he didn’t know why since he hadn’t seen him up until now. It didn’t bother him too much but it would be kind of fun to crash a rich party next time he was out. “Thank you Bruce for the wonderful idea.” he smiled widely.


	8. Arkham Charity Event

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I am extremely glad I could get one more chapter out before work and school started up again. I won't have a set posting date for my chapters until I get a feel of how school, work, and writing goes but I'm hoping for a chapter a week. Thanks so much for reading my story and I hope you guys stick around to the end~.

Bruce had about a week off from the higher up criminals so his night adventures ended pretty early and he got more sleep. Since he didn’t need to be out as long he began to think of ways he could help improve Arkham Asylum further. It didn’t keep the Joker inside very long and he would actually like it to keep him there. He was probably asking for a lot but it wouldn’t hurt to have someone other than just him putting money into the asylum. “Alfred.” he spoke up as he finished his breakfast and handed the plate to him. “I want to throw a charity event for Arkham Asylum.”

”I was wondering when you would want too.” he nodded. “I’ll start getting the invitations and plans ready.”

”Thank you.” he smiled and wouldn’t let him do it all. He would do the security part but when you put in the catering, the entertainment, and the invitations, he did hardly any work. When people would say the party was great he would always say it was thanks to Alfred and how happy he was that he had him. He was sure some of them thought he was being modest but he would never lie about Alfred and what he could do.

Bruce didn’t take long to make sure the security was in place and that there would be no problems whatsoever. He trusted no one from Gotham so he was glad to pay the price and have security come from another state to help him out. They actually did their job and wouldn’t inform the criminals in Gotham what was going on and who they could attack next. His guests always felt the safest at his parties and he would keep it that way.

The last thing on his agenda was to find a date for the party. He really didn’t want to find one and wondered if he could get by without a date. It wasn’t like he was trying to throw a party to prove he still had money, it was for a good cause. Finding a date wouldn’t be hard but having to entertain that date all night long would be the difficult part. He looked through the names he had in his address book and when he got to the end he decided against it.

All he needed was to put on a press conference which that was easy to rile up because he only had to call Vicki and he had plenty of reporters to listen to his speech. Bruce got all the hype he needed and even had people calling to ask to be on the list. He made sure that every person that wanted to be there would make a donation and that by the end of the night he would double it. The motives that some of the people had for wanting to be there didn’t matter to him as long as he collected the money and the publicity he got, he could care less for. His goal was to help the asylum and the patients, nobody else’s opinion matter.

***

The night of the event came quickly and his usual rich guests were on the list plus a couple of people that he believed would actually donate instead of just being there to be there. He stood at the door welcoming everyone and watched as the bucket he had for the money fill up. Bruce was glad that everyone put a good amount in and had a good feeling about how much he would have by the end of the night. After everyone had arrived he was just left to visiting and drinking water. He didn’t eat any of the food or drink any of the wine since it was out of habit to keep his wits about him. Bruce had also tried drinking once before and he didn’t like how he felt afterward.

Everything went fine, everyone was safe and he was soon saying his goodbyes. It was nice to have the mansion to Alfred and him again. He grabbed the bucket so he could count how much money was in there and then put it all away into a suitcase before adding his half. Once that was done he went back downstairs to help Alfred clean up. Alfred assured Bruce that he didn’t need to help but he usually stayed up all night anyway so he might as well. With the two of them working together it was all cleaned up within an hour. “Good night Alfred.”

”Good night Master Bruce.” he nodded before heading up to bed so he could get good night’s rest. He slept the best when Bruce was home and safe so he always took full advantage of it.

Bruce took a little longer to get up to his room mostly since he was thinking about tomorrow and he needed to run down the rest of his energy before he could sleep. He took to working out for another hour before he finally felt tired enough and fell onto his bed. Arkham Asylum was probably going to expect the money to be transferred into their bank account but this time, he was going there to see for himself how the money he sent before was being spent. If the asylum was the same as anywhere else in the city, he had a feeling the place wouldn’t be as what he expected.

***

Alfred was a little unsure of Bruce going to the asylum and Bruce kept assuring him that he’d be fine. It wasn’t like talking to Joker was his main goal it was to check out the asylum. He had all the money ready in a suitcase and got into the limousine. Alfred got into the front and drove them to the asylum. When they pulled up the guard was a little confused but at the mention of Bruce Wayne he opened the gates for them. “Alfred, please stay in the car.” he said not wanting him to be seen by the Joker. He was at least going to see what kind of cell they put him in and he wanted Alfred far away from him.

”Are you sure sir?” he asked.

Bruce smiled a little, “I know you’ll be able to handle yourself but I don’t want it to come to that.” he said patting his shoulder before getting out of the vehicle and was met by a doctor. He was a little confused because the asylum hadn’t released yet that Amadeus was admitted and no longer the owner. “Where is Amadeus?”

”That’s a long story.” he answered motioning for Bruce to follow him.

”I have all day.” he stated stopping in front of him. “I’d like to know what happened to the man I have been investing my money too for the past year.”

The doctor shifted a little not sure of what to say and if he should but he knew that Bruce was the only reason they still had money in the asylum so he decided to tell the truth. “Amadeus was admitted, he was giving electroshock therapy and lobotomies to the patients he found disgusting. We’ve been talking with him to get his side of the story and that’s what he has admitted so far.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows and instead of just following the doctor inside his mouth spit out what he was thinking. “You found out because of Joker?”

”Yes…well Harleen told us after she found Amadeus trying to give the same treatment to Joker.” he answered. It wasn’t much of a surprise that the Joker brought that side of Amadeus to light since he knew how to poke and prod someone until they snapped. He tried doing that to Batman all night long before he finally caught him for good. “So why are you visiting us today?”

”I have the money that I raised last night and I wanted to see where my money has been put to make sure I want to invest more.” he stated lifting the suitcase up a bit so the doctor knew they were one bad thought away from losing his money.

The doctor tensed up a little but quickly calmed down before smiling. “Alright Mr. Wayne, I’ll give you a quick tour.”

Bruce shook his head at that, “I want a full tour of the facility.”

”I ca-“

”You can.” he nodded and the doctor reluctantly agreed leading him into the facility. Bruce liked the look of it so far and the visitation area looked amazing. The doctor was talking about how they hardly had visitors but when they did the place was kept up so that they could enjoy catching up with their relatives. When it came to see past the visiting area the doctor was acting more nervous and moved a lot slower. “Is something wrong?”

The doctor shook his head at first but as they reached the door he faced Bruce. “I’m sorry but the place smells old, looks old, and I can’t tell you where your money has been going.” he stated before swiping his card to open the door so they could continue the tour.

Bruce was expecting it but to know that it was true made him a little angry. He didn’t speak as he followed the doctor through every corridor and looked at the state of most of the cells. The smell was a little hard to get used to and wondered if they even had a janitor or something to clean up. He was going to need more money to help get this place back up to where it was supposed to be. He noticed a newer wing and looked up. “Maximum security?” he asked.

”Yes, we needed to dedicate a wing to certain people that may need a cell here, the first one to stay is Joker.” answered the doctor no longer hiding anything as he led the way down.

There were a few more cells being prepared just in case and when they got to the cell Joker was on the ground. Bruce’s heart sped up when he saw him lying there, not moving and looked at the doctor. “What’s wrong with him?”

”He was given a sedative.”

”Why?”

”He didn’t like how we put the medicine back on his chart and he fought the nurse.”

Bruce frowned at that because what were they teaching Joker by knocking him out? “I don’t see how this is helping.” he stated as Joker started to move. It looked wrong to him because Joker usually moved with grace and hidden power. He was barely moving, his fingers twitched and he couldn’t support his own body to get up.

”He hates it so he’ll eventually learn that he has to listen to us if he wants it to stop.” explained the doctor.

”Or it’ll kill him.” he pointed out as Joker finally was able to sit up and see who was standing outside his cell.

Joker smiled widely and leaned back against his cot. “This is funny…” he said softly and his voice cracked from how thirsty he was. The only thing the sedative was doing was making him extremely dehydrated. “The pretty billionaire who cares for the crazies here to see me?” he asked with a small giggle before coughing. “Can I get some water doctor?”

The doctor was going to shake his head but Bruce nodded. “Go ahead, I’ll wait here.” he assured him. He hesitated slightly before leaving to go get the water. Joker tried to get up and nearly fell face first onto the floor before he leaned against the cot. “Don’t get up.”

”Are you concerned for me?” he asked and it earned another giggle. He looked up at Bruce and his laughter stopped. That was a face he wasn’t used to seeing unless it was Harley. The billionaire was concerned for him and maybe even pitied him. “Don’t look at me like that.” he growled a little lunging at the glass so he could lean against that instead. “I don’t need your pity.”

Bruce didn’t know what he was feeling at that moment and shook his head. “I don’t pity you it’s just the doctors here don’t know as much as I thought.”

Joker looked him over slowly and shook his head. “They just help in hiding away the people who can see the world for what it truly is, a laughing stock!”

”What would fix you?” he asked him knowing that he probably shouldn’t be talking to him but this was the man that changed him. Joker sealed his number one rule for good that he wouldn’t kill anyone and not everyone was crazy in this town. The man may look like he has lost his mind but he knew the way he looked wasn’t his own doing or he would be able to take off the white paint, red lips and green hair like he could take off the cowl every morning. He was born that way and sure he may have created a persona to fit the way he looked but it was all done on his terms. This man was in full control of everything, hell he could have made himself look that way for all he knew.

”You’re asking the patient how they want to be fixed? Brucie…” he sighed shaking his head and tutting. “I don’t think you’re cut out to be a doctor.”

”But I want to know, what would fix you?”

Joker smiled widely at that and took a step back. He was able to stand on his own now and breathed on the glass before drawing the bat symbol. “Bats.” he answered.

Bruce looked confused as he tried his best not to let Batman come out and looked at the symbol and back up to Joker until it disappeared. “Are you serious?”

”I’m always serious.” he smirked as the doctor returned with the water and put it in the compartment. Joker quickly grabbed the bottle and drank from it to parch his thirst. “I’ll be seeing you later~.” winked Joker and laughed as Bruce tensed.

It was a bad idea to walk in here as Bruce and the doctor ushered him out before Joker could say anything else to him. He didn’t know what he meant by that statement but there were two possibilities, either he’d go see Bruce or he knew he was Batman. There was no way he knew he was Batman so he had to be on his toes 24/7 if he got out of Arkham again. The doctor was explaining a few more things which he mostly ignored until they were at the end of the tour. “We need to make a contract to ensure the money goes to where it should or I pull all funding.” he warned and the doctor realized how serious things were then.

”Okay, I’ll go get the lawyer…” he said softly and Bruce called up his own lawyer to meet him at the asylum.

After he was done with that conversation he called Alfred to tell him that he would be a bit and would catch a cab home. He didn’t feel right having the older gentleman sit out there and wait for him with something that could take an hour or two. Bruce sat down as he waited for his lawyer and for Arkham’s lawyer and thought about what he had learned. Mostly he thought about Joker and watched as he struggled with relearning his body. He wondered how many days in a row they had given the sedative and knew the side effects that could happen, mainly death if delivered wrong. He didn’t blame Joker for hating the sedative because it made him lose control of his body which he has perfect control every other minute of his life. Bruce shivered a little imagining how it would feel for him and it just reminded him of the one night he got drunk. He would have to mention the sedative and limit the use so he didn’t end up hearing about a dead joker someday.

Bruce didn’t even realize until both the lawyers were there that he spent the whole time waiting thinking about Joker and being concerned for him. He had never thought about someone else other than Alfred this long and it honestly scared him a little. If he could waste thirty minutes thinking on Joker…how much did Joker change about him?


	9. Not Funny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm thinking that I should be able to update once a week as long as the class doesn't ask for too much from me but we'd have to see as the months go by. Thanks for waiting~!

Bruce didn’t leave Arkham Asylum until it was dark and it was one of the worst headaches he ever had. He couldn’t get the sedative taken out of the asylum because some of the more violent patients that weren’t Joker needed it when they got out of hand. It would be putting the staff’s physical health in jeopardy so he made sure that when a medicine was given out, the five doctors that had been there the longest would all look at the case and come to a vote. He also made sure that the money that he gave would go straight to the patients, new clothes, new recreation area, and new living conditions. After the doctor admitted the failure to upkeep the asylum he mostly tuned him out and looked at the patient’s cell and could see all the problems with one quick look.

The meeting really shouldn’t have lasted so long but the lawyer kept trying to hold it off until they could find a new owner. Bruce wouldn’t let him and that’s the only reason it even got done. He left the money on the table and explained they had a week to show improvements or he was taking all of his money back. It would be interesting to see what they were going to do.

***

Joker was getting used to the over the next week. Most people did when they were given it nearly every day but when they upped the dosage, he would still wake up at the same time or sooner. His body was used to it and because of his past experiences medicine didn’t work forever. The doctor that administered the sedative was soon fed up with it and demanded answers from the Joker. “What are you doing?” he asked.

”Doing?” he asked as he smiled widely. He loved pissing off the doctors here and loved to mess with the nurses. They still thought that they could help him and change him for the better but that would never happen. Joker already told one person who would fix him and it still wouldn’t be the way they wanted it. “I’m not doing anything other than playing the happy prisoner.”

The doctor really didn’t want to tell him what they were planning on but since it was his treatment the lunatic had to know. “We’re going to give you a couple weeks break and maybe your immune system will forget and we can start giving it to you again. We’re also not going to give you pills anymore for your Bipolar disorder since you refuse to take them.” he somewhat lied because they were going to put it in his food so he would finally take it and they can see how he reacts.

Joker pouted at the second bit of news. “I won’t be able to feed my pet crocodile in the sewer anymore? He’ll starve!” he exclaimed going over to the toilet. “Don’t worry boy! I’ll find something good for you!” He barely got out before he giggled and soon turned into loud laughter straight from the gut. The doctor sighed and left the Joker alone to finish laughing. When his stomach began to hurt and he could barely breathe the Joker’s laugher started to subside. He giggled a little here and there but it was just so funny to see the doctor’s stone faces. “This place really needs to lighten up.” he smiled.

Lunch came a few hours later and it was soup and a piece of bread. “Looks like I won the lottery today.” he smiled at the nurse who put it in the compartment and closed it up. She didn’t say anything or crack a smile before she left him alone. Joker frowned and shook his head. “No humor whatsoever in this place.” he stated as he grabbed the bowl first and ate his meal.

Joker really didn’t notice anything at first after he ate lunch except for nurses walking up to his cell more often. He was getting a little suspicious but didn’t say anything. He got his usual escort of being tied up to Harley’s office for his therapy session and it was then that he realized something was wrong with him. His leg muscles felt agitated and he kept looking down at his leg to watch it twitch but it never did. He focused on his leg the whole time and the feeling went away when he was untied so he could walk into the office.

Harley could tell right away that something was on his mind and waited for him to sit down and be comfortable. She wanted to ask what it was but he normally didn’t answer questions. It was best to let him come out with it and decided to talk about his escape plan. “I think that I can help get you out of here on Saturday, that’s when we have the least amount of staff on duty and I’ll be able to make it look like you were injured.” she started off.

”That’s great, just come knocking on my cell when it’s time.” he said still thinking about his leg and his hand twitched. Harley noticed it and looked down as it twitched again and continued too. It shook at a steady rhythm and that wasn’t normal for him. “I better make sure I kill a few of them on the way out or it’d look suspicious.” he stated actually seeing Harley for the first time since he arrived and followed her line of sight. He didn’t know why his hand was shaking and tried to stop it but it wouldn’t. “This isn’t funny.” he growled a little placing his other hand on top of it but he could still feel his hand shaking underneath it.

”What did they give you?” asked Harley getting up from her chair and walked around to push his chair out so she could get a good look at him.

”They didn’t give me anything and didn’t even try to hand me that ridiculous Bipolar medicine.” he answered starting to get frustrated with himself even though he obviously couldn’t control it.

Harley didn’t believe that, “Just stay here.” she said as she left her office to talk to a few nurses to find out what had happened.

While Harley was gone Joker did his best to stop the shaking but his body wouldn’t listen. His stomach began to churn and he knew it wasn’t just him. They definitely did something and thought back on what happened that day. No one tried to give him medicine, he got lunch, and nurses kept coming to check on him…..the nurses kept checking in on him after lunch. Joker’s eyes narrowed and he stood up to go after them but only bent over in pain. He cried out as the pain increased and soon fell to the floor.

It didn’t take long for Harley to find out what they had done and she hurried back to her office only to find Joker on the floor. “Joker?” she asked loudly and knelt beside him to check his heartbeat. “I need an ambulance!” she shouted.

Everyone worked quickly to help get Joker into the ambulance so that they could hurry to the hospital, well the temporary hospital since he blew up the building. They were definitely concerned for the man but nobody was as worried as Harley was. She tried her best not to hold his hand and play the doctor part. Harley explained what was given to him and he was quickly taken away to get a checkup and find out what was wrong.

A few hours passed and they had figured it out and fixed him. The doctor soon came up to Harley who stood up and straightened out her coat. “He’s doing a lot better now. We just had to flush his system and get the medicine out as much as we could. I would recommend not giving him anymore medicine for a while and whatever you did give him, don’t do it again.” he warned.

”I didn’t do it, I believed him when he told me that medicine didn’t work the same. Could I get a note that says he can’t be given it anymore?” she asked. The doctor nodded and let her go see him as he went to fill out the rest of his paperwork so she could add it to his file.

News of the Joker being in the hospital wasn’t hidden for very long. The cops were all talking about going to get him and get rid of him while he was down but Gordon made sure only he was there. He kept a close eye on his men making sure none of them would get inside to kill him. Bruce was surprised to hear him in the hospital and also angry. He wanted to know what the hell happened and was glad the news got out so close to nightfall.

”You’re going to the hospital?” asked Alfred as he noticed Bruce heading toward the Batcave early.

”You always know what I’m going to do don’t you?” he asked turning to face Alfred.

Alfred nodded, “I’ve taken care of you since you were little Master Bruce, I know you more than you know yourself.”

Bruce couldn’t agree more with that because Alfred always knew what to say to help him out and when he was having trouble. Alfred would always know exactly what to do. He really couldn’t be the same person he was now without him. “I’ll be back later.” he said before disappearing into the elevator and going downstairs to get dressed.

Gordon made it clear that he would be the one watching Joker’s room for the night, no one else. He was thankful his night shifts just started and took post right outside his room. When visiting hours were done he had to help push Harleen out of the room even though she was worried and wanted to make sure no one got to Joker either. He assured her that nothing would happen to him and that she could come back in the morning.

The doctor gave him an update on Joker’s status, his vitals recovered quickly once they helped get rid of the medicine but he hadn’t woken up yet. That part concerned them the most because they couldn’t do anything to help wake him up, he needed to do that on his own.

Joker was asleep for so long because he was on a real bed, something comfortable and able to rest easy without being sedated or worried about the guards. He felt pretty good and when he was did wake up, he didn’t want too. He yawned a little as he moved to sit up and look around himself. The smell of bleach, monitors, and the IV in him gave away where he was at. Joker giggled a little and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. “Oh this is too good! I’m at the makeshift hospital they made after I blew up Elliot Memorial and they fixed me!” he said loudly and laughed louder.

Gordon could hear Joker from outside the room but didn’t bother going inside since he didn’t want to talk to him. He just needed to make sure no one killed the man but decided to go tell a doctor that he had woken up.

The clown looked around the room before pulling out the IV and going to the door. He set his ear up against it and didn’t hear anyone talking however he wouldn’t trust that no one was out there keeping him in. He looked back toward the window and walked over to open it. “I could escape right now.” he thought out loud to himself and looked over the buildings surrounding them. ”It would be nice to go play with Bats again.” he smiled widely and leaned against the window sill. “I’ll be back soon.” he promised the shadows since he knew that’s where Batman would be hiding and maybe beating up a criminal looting a store.

Batman was just about to go into the room when the window opened and grappled back up to the roof to watch Joker closely. He could tell it was his voice and needed to find out how he was hospitalized in the first place. His eyes widened as he heard him talking about escaping and he was ready to pounce because there was nothing stopping him from jumping out the window to go terrorize Gotham again. Joker didn’t though he stayed perched on the window sill looking out at the night. He stared at the man trying to figure him out and decided that he might as well still get his information while Joker was awake.

”What happened?” he asked and even though Joker wasn’t prepared for Batman to be there he didn’t jump.

Joker looked around for where Batman could be and smiled widely. “Oh, are you worried about me Bats?” he asked.

”What happened?” he repeated.

”You are~.” he sang a little and soon turned to look up at the roof. “You can come into my room, I promise I won’t bite hard.” he smirked. Batman shook his head and waited for him to answer his question. Joker didn’t see him move so he backed away into his room. He wanted to see if Batman would come inside and how much he cared which would be easy to see once he was in front of him. He was about to give up after a few minutes past but then Batman soon swung into the room and rolled onto his feet. Joker smiled widely glad that his plan had worked and did his best not to get any closer to him than Batman already did so he wouldn’t scare the man away. “Now, I was fed some Bipolar medicine after warning them that it would never work the way they want it too.”

”That’s it?” Batman asked.

Joker frowned at how he asked the question like he didn’t believe him. “Yes that’s it!” he snapped. “I’m different from everyone inside and out.

Batman was still a little confused and if he should believe him. “What made you different?”

The other man laughed and shook his head. “You happened to me.”

”That’s not a good answer.” he growled.

”But it’s the truth.” smiled Joker widely and stepped closer to Batman just a few inches away from him. Batman didn’t pull away watching him closely as Joker reached for him.

Batman wasn’t sure of what he was doing but his cowl detected a threat. He quickly wrapped his arms around Joker, pulled him to his chest and broke through the door with his shoulder. A rocket hit the side of Joker’s room and exploded just as Batman broke the door. He covered Joker from the blast who was giggling at how Batman had saved him once again. He looked back at the hole in the building to see if the threat would persist but nothing happened.

Joker wasn’t able to move yet from how tightly Batman was holding him and his giggles had subsided soon after the smoke cleared. “So…are you expecting a kiss for saving me or is there another reason why you haven’t let go yet?” he teased.

His words pulled Batman out of his protective mode and let go of Joker. He looked around the area to make sure no one else had gotten hurt and spotted Gordon running down the hall with a doctor in tow. The officer heard the explosion and ran ahead of the doctor who kept saying he didn’t care about Joker’s condition. “Don’t fight him or I’ll make sure you won’t be able too.” he warned Joker before leaving through the hole.

Gordon ran up and Joker lifted his hands up. “I didn’t do it. You can ask Batman yourself.” he stated not once putting up a fight as Gordon dragged him off to another room that was away from windows. Joker didn’t like the new view but managed to sleep again since he had a wonderful conversation with Batman.


	10. Free Again

Gordon let the doctors look Joker over to make sure everything was well and soon left them alone. Joker looked over at the officer and smiled widely at him. “I saw Batman with you so tell me what happened.” he stated knowing that if he tried lying, he could just find it out by Batman.

“Well I was looking out my window enjoying the landscape when Batman showed up. He wanted to know what happened to me, he really cares about my health.” he smiled as he crossed his legs, rested his elbows on his legs, and chin on his hands. “Just like you.”

”Keep going.” he said not going to care about anything else except for what happened.

Joker frowned a little and set his hands on the bed. “Fine, we talked, he pulled me close, and we were in the hallway with the wall exploding behind us. Was that monotone enough for you?” Gordon nodded and turned to leave him alone. The clown got up from his bed and quickly walked up behind him. “Wow so I put on a serious face and you suddenly believe me?” he asked. “Why can’t you trust someone with a smile?” he asked smiling widely just for Gordon as he turned around.

”I don’t trust you at all.” stated Gordon before leaving the room.

Joker laughed a little and went back over to his bed to get some more rest for the night. The next morning came quickly and he was woken up by Harley grabbing his hand. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. “Hello darling.”

”Puddin’! I’m so glad you’re okay.” she smiled widely before bending down to hug him tightly. “The doctors said you could come back and just in time for us to still do your escape plan if you want.” she said as she pulled away and looked him over.

”That’d be wonderful, I’m tired of waiting in the asylum and after seeing Bats last night, I really need to get back out there.” he stated getting off the bed so they could leave.

Harley shook her head and led the way out. “Fine, I guess I can hurry and let you indulge.” she teased even though she would love to go help Joker in messing with the Batman. Her time would come though, she wasn’t ready to change her life that much for him but knew it was in the future.

***

Saturday came a lot faster for Harley than it did for Joker. Joker was planning everything he would do and how he would stay out longer. There was no way he would be caught within a month of getting out because he had so many things he wanted to do. He needed to mess with Batman, crash a party or two, and did he mention messing with Batman? By the time Harley came to let Joker out he was pacing the room from excitement. “About time.” he smiled widely.

”Come on, I’ll give you the best escort you ever had.” she winked at him and opened his cell.

”I can always rely on you.” he assured her as he walked out and took the lead.

Harley had a bounce in her step but she couldn’t look that happy. She had to look like she was being held hostage and Joker soon heard a few guards so he wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her close. She handed him the syringe with a sedative and he held it to her neck. When the guards turned the corner Harley instantly looked scared. “He…he got out of his cell!” she exclaimed and the guards lifted their guns.

”Let her go.” warned one of them and Joker just shook his head.

”You don’t know what’s in this do you?” he asked pressing it more into her neck. “I could kill her very quickly.” he pointed out.

The guards soon lowered their guns so that Harley and Joker could walk up to them. When he got close enough he attacked the guards. He punched one of them before turning around and punching the other. They tried to hit him at the same time but Joker ducked down and knocked one onto the ground. Joker grabbed his head and slammed it down on the ground. The other guard tried to get him but he rolled away and kicked him in the head. Once the guard was stunned he grabbed his head and snapped his neck.

Harley watched everything and held her hand out to him. “You’re amazing.” she said softly glad that she could finally see him fight. She would always believed that the fights Joker got caught up in he would end up on top.

”Of course I am.” he smiled widely and continued to lead the way finding no other resistance before they got to an exit door.

”How soon do you think you’ll be back?” she asked as Joker made a straight line for the door and paused.

Joker shrugged a little, “As long as people think they can fix me I’ll keep coming back but not any time soon.” he answered before leaving the Asylum.

***

Bruce got a call a couple days after Joker’s escape from the asylum which he wanted to tell them how stupid they were for letting him out again. He went as Batman the night they released the news of his escape and this time there was nothing. Harleen Quinzel went to get Joker for his next session and that’s when he took her hostage. The one guard that lived said he had a syringe but Harleen said he didn’t. He looked up the two on his computer and Harleen had nothing in her background but the guard did so he had to believe the doctor. There was still something wrong with her situation however, he had to focus on capturing Joker again.

That’s why when he found out it was the asylum wanting to talk to Bruce, he didn’t want any part of it other than news of Joker suddenly appearing back in his cell. “Hello?” he answered trying not to come across as annoyed.

”Hello, is this Mr. Wayne?” asked the voice and Bruce recognized it as the lawyer that he spent a good few hours with a few days ago.

”Yes it is, what do you need?”

The lawyer thought it’d be best if Bruce knew who the new owner was since he has donated a substantial amount of money and he could see that he was the main reason the asylum hasn’t closed yet. “I wanted to let you know that we have found a new owner and that he would like to meet with you.”

Bruce was glad they didn’t try putting him in charge of the asylum and was curious to see who it would be. “I’d love too, when does he have time?” he asked.

”Tomorrow at eight?” he suggested.

”I’ll be there.” he assured him and said good bye before hanging up. Bruce was glad he’d get a chance to meet him to get a feeling of how he would run the asylum. He hoped it wouldn’t be anything like Amadeus again but he’d have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight though, he was ready to go looking for Joker. He was pretty sure he spent more time looking for Joker than actually capturing him because the man knew how to hide and he had a feeling it would be the same thing as last time. Bruce would spend most of his night out looking for Joker and catching what criminals he could on the side but with no sign of him.

The night went exactly as he thought it would and decided he wouldn’t worry about Joker until he showed up. Joker was flamboyant and everyone would know what he was up too so he just had to wait. Bruce decided to just focus on meeting the new owner of the asylum and the next morning he was a little tired as Alfred drove him to the asylum. “Are you sure you’re going to stay awake Master Bruce?” he asked as he glanced in the rearview mirror.

”Oh yeah, I can.” he assured him even though he only managed a couple hours after running around all night to look for Joker.

”I’ll wait out here again.” he stated as they arrived at the asylum.

”This time I won’t take a few hours.” assured Bruce because he’d leave if it did last that long. Bruce walked into the asylum and he was led to Amadeus’ old office. The name of the new owner hadn’t been changed yet so the person was still a mystery. He knocked on the door and waited a few moments.

”Come in!” welcomed the owner and Bruce walked in. Quincy Sharp looked up from his desk that was filled with paperwork and smiled widely. “Hello Bruce Wayne, I’m Quincy Sharp.” he introduced getting up and shaking the billionaire’s hand.

Bruce was a little thrown off because the man was pretty short compared to him and dressed up in a suit. Maybe that meant he wouldn’t try being a doctor to the patients and focus on the appearance, reputation, and keeping the doctors in line. “It’s nice to meet you.” he said and took a seat across from Quincy.

”I’m glad you could come today because I wanted to get to know one of the only investors to the asylum.” he explained as he moved some paperwork around to find the document that Bruce worked on with the lawyer. “I can see that you wanted to make sure the funds would actually go to improving the patient’s living environment?” he asked.

”Yes, I got a tour of the facility and it has been neglected for too long.”

Quincy nodded in agreement as he set the paper down and leaned back in his chair. “I fully agree with you and I’m making sure that things are going to be changed.”

Bruce wanted to believe him but there was still too much corruption in Gotham and was already expecting the worse outcome. “If you don’t mind me prying, I’d like to know exactly what you’re planning for while being in charge of this asylum.”

The man smiled and sat up in his chair. “I’m glad you asked.” he stated as he got out another document and handed it to Bruce. “This paper outlines what I expect to happen in the next year. The security will be updated, more guards, cameras, and hopefully a body scanner.” he started. Bruce was looking over the paper to read more of the details that he was talking about and so far he couldn’t agree more on the cameras, he would even provide them. “For patients, there will be custodians, upkeep on the recreation area, showers, rooms, and specialized doctors for diagnosing patients.” he continued. Bruce wouldn’t say he was fully impressed but he liked the direction that Quincy wanted to move in. “Finally, for the holding cells, I will add another wing for isolation instead of sedating patients that don’t learn, specifically made cells for certain people and thorough background checks for therapy doctors.”

”I like your plan so far but are you sure you can pull it off?” he asked as he set the paper down.

Quincy couldn’t blame Bruce for being cautious because everyone knew about Gotham. They all knew that criminals were born and raised and the majority of the population couldn’t be trusted. “I know you have your doubts but I implore you to visit any time you wish. I will give you the tour myself and at any time, I will be glad to give your money back.” he assured him.

Bruce knew he had to take chances and he felt like he should take this one. “Alright, I’ll take you up on your offer of a tour in a couple months to see how things are going.” he smiled a little.

”We can continue to expect contributions then?” he asked.

”Yes, I will help you with your security equipment as well and that’s when I will come do a tour so I can see where you want to put the cameras.” he stated reaching his hand out and shook Quincy’s hand.

”That’ll be wonderful.” smiled Quincy as he walked over to his door and opened it for him. “I can’t wait to work with you more.”

”Me too, I will talk to you later.” he nodded before he headed back out to Alfred and got into the backseat. He was still in thought and almost missed Alfred’s question.

”How did it go?” he inquired since he wasn’t able to follow him inside.

Bruce looked up and then out the window. “It went well and I like the direction he’s headed in but I’m still worried what will happen after he has control for a little while.” he stated as Alfred began to drive them back home.

Alfred could understand his concern and glanced back at him. “This time we’ll make sure to keep an eye on the owner.” he stated since the last one lost his mind.

”It’ll be easier too because he wants to add security cameras and I offered up our equipment.” he pointed out and Alfred was glad he did. “We’ll be able to look in on the footage any time we need too and keep an eye on Joker when he’s back in his cell but…” he stated remembering how Quincy mentioned an isolation wing.

”What’s on your mind?” probed Alfred since that was the only way to get a quick answer out of Bruce.

”He mentioned an isolation wing but didn’t explain what it would look like. Isolation doesn’t sound like it would be very helpful.” he stated and looked at Alfred in the mirror. “What do you think about it?”

Alfred agreed that isolation wouldn’t do much help but Bruce couldn’t control everything that the new owner wanted. “I agree but you can’t control everybody Master Bruce.”

Bruce sighed a little and sat back again looking out the window. “I know and at least I can come look at the asylum any time I want.”

”Then don’t worry too much about it and focus on some other work that you have.” he assured him.

***

Joker spent most of his time looking for a new place to make his hideout since his other one was found out and probably had everything taken away from him. He didn’t want to risk going back and see what he could recover and would just start over from scratch. This time he wasn’t looking for a rundown or abandoned place, he was going to visit someone that Harley had met not too long ago. His name was Edward Burke and she said that he had some great ideas for an amusement park thanks to his daughter. He didn’t want the full details but Harley said he really needed to meet him so he could do at least that much.

The clown showed up later in the evening so that he could hide his movements and when he got to the address he was confused. There was a pink bike, yard well kept, and it looked like a completely normal house. Joker was worried about where Harley had sent him and knocked on the door. It didn’t take long before it was answered and the man raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t too old, maybe in his late thirties, dark brown hair, and some wrinkles starting to form on his forehead making Joker think that he must have been very concerned about something for a while now. “Hello, are you Edward Burke?” he asked with a wide smile.

Edward was new to Gotham and didn’t know much about Joker yet, he only knew of him as Jack White. “And you are Jack White?” he asked with a wide smile.

”Yes, I am. My friend said that she liked your drawings and I’ve been looking to invest into a park for some time now.” he explained mostly wanting to see if his vision was good enough for a place to hide.

”I can show you them but they’re technically my daughter’s.” he nodded and stepped aside to welcome Jack into the house.

Joker was looking around for the daughter because he didn’t like being interrupted and a kid would be a very big distraction. “Is it just us?”

Edward paused in getting out the drawings and after a few moments he finally pulled them out. He set the folder on the table and took a seat. “It is just us.” he answered but didn’t go into further explanation. This was a business proposition and he had to focus if he wanted his little girl’s dream to come true. “These are all her drawings, Harley was interested but she said I had to impress you.” he smiled a little.

Joker nodded at that feeling better now that they wouldn’t get interrupted and sat down to look through the folder. The drawings were crude with a childlike manner and he loved every little bit of it. His smile grew as he continued to look through all of them and Edward felt like things were going well as he watched the man. “I like them as well, now we can start talking about what we’ll do together.” he laughed a little relaxing back in his chair.


	11. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I know I used a quote from The Dark Knight but it can't be helped, Bruce is a rich bastard.

”I want you to start looking into some land, getting the deeds, the paperwork, and everything needed to start construction. Any time that you are in a pinch, you contact Harley and she will deliver the message to me. I’m a busy man and I can’t be answering phone calls all the time so it might take me a couple days before I get back to you but I promise, you will get the money you need.” he smiled widely. Joker already had a few plans on how to get a good chunk of start change for Edward and stood up holding his hand out.

Edward barely spoke up or said anything during the conversation because he just couldn’t believe that there was someone out there willing to make his daughter’s dream come true. He hoped by how fast Jack moved with this conversation meant that the park would be up before her health fell too far to leave the hospital. He smiled back and stood up to shake his hand. “I can’t wait to do more business with you.”

”Me either.” smirked Joker before he took his leave to find a temporary place until the park was done. He hoped that he could stay out until it was built but he knew there was a shadow trying to catch up to him every second he breathed fresh air. Joker didn’t say much as he got back into his car and drove around the city to come across an abandoned apartment building. It only housed two apartments but he could break down a few walls to make things easier.

Joker walked inside and looked around to see what he would need to do to make it better. A few walls would definitely have to come down and he’d have to go buy some more beds, furniture and make a comfortable office all to himself. There wasn’t a whole lot to do but he had to finish it before he went to find thugs. He had to make a good impression if he wanted anyone to work for him and he was very good at convincing people. Joker laughed at the idea of what he could do before he started working on the place.

***

Alfred checked the mail a few minutes after it was delivered and looked through each envelope. Most of it was junk mail but there was one envelope that Bruce would need to see. He had certain acquaintances that he needed to keep around and one of them wanted to throw a party. The butler went to Bruce’s study and knocked on the door as he entered. “I have some mail for you, most of it is junk but one of them is from Harvey Dent.” he stated.

”Harvey?” he asked finding it strange he got a letter from him because he didn’t show much interest with politics. Bruce grabbed the mail and opened Harvey’s letter right away. It was an invitation to a charity and campaigning event. He almost forgot that Harvey was running for the District Attorney position and it wouldn’t hurt to see what his vision was. “I’ll go.” he stated handing it back to Alfred.

Alfred nodded and headed over to the phone so that he could call to RSVP in the positive for Bruce. He knew the man would forget about it if he didn’t do it right away and when the call was done he went about cleaning up some of the rooms that he only touched once a month.

Bruce had to finish some business for Wayne Enterprises before he could focus on other things. He needed to make sure that his tech department would start working on cameras that he could connect too and a body scanner. He also wanted to be the one to design them personally so he knew how they worked but he didn’t have the time to do everything. That’s why he started looking up someone else that he could trust as lead of his tech department and he needed to make sure that they were really trustworthy. His plan was to share his nighttime identity and keep his gadgets in development.

It was going to be a very big risk but he needed someone to put all their efforts into the technology instead of him who is torn in so many directions it was hard to keep track. Bruce had been looking into everyone who came up as candidates and there was one that stuck out the most to him. He kept looking through his background and anything he could get his hands on however he was clean. Lucius Fox was a very intelligent man, loyal, and very good at his job. He didn’t have much of a work history but from what he could find, there were good marks all around.

Alfred soon came back to see what Bruce was doing since it had been a few hours and leaned over to look at the screen. “Still debating sir?” he asked.

”I just don’t know if I’m ready to trust someone.” he stated.

”It’s okay.” he assured him and set a hand on his shoulder. “A lot can happen when you let more people know about Batman and you but you need more allies. I’m not saying I’m incompetent but I can only do so much for you.”

Bruce smiled a little and looked up at Alfred. “I would never replace you.” he stated getting from the chair so he could stretch. “When I’m ready, I know who I’ll hire.”

”What would you like for dinner Master Bruce?” he asked as he led the way out of the Batcave since he could tell that Bruce needed a break from work.

”I won’t be picky tonight.” he answered not sure what he wanted but the mention of food made him hungry.

Alfred could hear Bruce’s stomach grumble and shook his head. “You always wait too long.” Bruce smiled a little looking off to the side. “How about we order out then?” he asked raising his head up to look away from Bruce.

”You want to order out?” he asked with a small smile.

”It would be nice not to clean after you for a change.” he smiled and looked back at Bruce.

Bruce shook his head at that going to get some menus that he kept around for this kind of situation. “I’m not that bad.”

”You’re not but some nights when you’ve had a good fight it is rather taxing to get you put all back together.” he explained stepping closer and looking over Bruce. Alfred was always glad when he came home with minor injuries so he didn’t spend most of the next morning tending to his wounds.

Bruce picked up the menus and handed them to Alfred. “I’m sorry for always being a pain.”

Alfred shook his head and set a hand on his shoulder. “You have never been a pain. Ever since your parents died you have been my son and I will always be there for you.”

Bruce smiled at that and pointed at the menus. “What sounds good?” he asked. He could barely remember the comforting touch of his parents and if it wasn’t for all the pictures and drawings of his family, he might have forgotten their faces as well. He continued to look at Alfred as the older gentleman looked over the menus and really couldn’t ask for anyone else in his life. Bruce’s life could have been a lot worse off if Alfred didn’t care about his feelings, his health and just followed orders all the time. Alfred questioned, made him think, and always gave the right advice.

Alfred looked up to tell Bruce what he had picked and paused. Bruce looked out of it and he almost didn’t want to break his train of thought. He soon cleared his throat to gain Bruce’s attention and he did snap out of it shaking his head. “How does Chinese sound sir?” he asked.

”Sounds great.” he smiled taking the menu so he could find something he would like to eat.

***

The next day when it was time for Harvey Dent’s party and campaigning event Bruce had no reason to go back on his RSVP. Nobody else was causing trouble in Gotham and there wasn’t a sign of Joker yet so Alfred made sure that Bruce wouldn’t back out. _”You can have the night off, it’s been too long.”_ Bruce shook his head a little and tried to focus on his date as they headed into the building. Harvey picked a large meeting room of a hotel and there was some security but Bruce would have gotten more. He walked in with his date, signing up and then they were set free to wander. His date wanted to go around and see everyone but he wanted to talk with Harvey. Bruce did look into him and he liked the campaign he was doing. Batman would have to give him a visit at some point when he had a better reputation with the police force.

”Oh, Bruce Wayne.” smiled Harvey as he walked up to him and they shook hands. “I really didn’t expect you to come. I heard you turn down a lot of invitations to parties and mostly politician invites, I’m glad you came.”

”You’re becoming more popular and I started to hear about your campaign. I like some of the ideas I’ve heard so far but I wanted to hear what you would do personally.” he stated because he knew how information could be translated and with how many enemies Harvey would be making if he did what he planned.

Harvey was very glad to hear that he was interested enough to listen and motioned him to follow. “I’d rather talk about what I want to do then listen to any more stories of how these other people got rich.” he stated honestly. “I’m not rich myself and definitely not used to this crowd…but no offense to you.” quickly defended Harvey.

Bruce was only smiling when Harvey looked over at him and nodded. “It’s okay, I don’t really like to talk about money either.”

Harvey relaxed at his words and led Bruce to an area so they could have some peace and quiet. “Alright, so what do you all want to know?” he asked.

”Everything.” he answered.

”Everything?” he asked and Bruce nodded. “I hope you can retain information really well.” he stated with a small smile before beginning to explain. “I want to first clean out the justice system of anyone who is tied to mob bosses and various criminals. Once that is done I will take out the mob bosses first because they are a constant strain on Gotham. After that I will refocus my energy on keeping the thugs inside of Blackgate so that if the criminals escape, they can’t have any manpower backing them.”

Bruce was glad to hear him say it and the way he talked so enthusiastically about it made him believe. “Well I recently began working with the Asylum for them to fix it up and make it hold criminals in.” he pointed out.

”I did hear about your donation contract. They did try to rebut it because they didn’t have an owner at the time. The court didn’t even have a chance to decide because when Quincy Sharp stepped in, he wanted to honor it without questions.” explained Harvey.

Bruce didn’t know they tried to get rid of the contract and hearing about the new owner put him more at ease. “You keep giving me good news Harvey and I don’t have any for you.”

Harvey smiled at that and set his hand on his shoulders. “I think a vote would be all I need but it’s still your decision.”

”I think you’ve earned it by now.” he assured him and offered a hand to shake again. “I also think you’ve earned more than just a vote. I want to throw a party for you some time to help finance the rest of your campaign and future ones.”

”You don’t have to-“ he started but Bruce interrupted him.

”One party with my friends and you won’t have to worry about money again.”

***

Bruce wasn’t worried, he was just fine, nothing was wrong, and everything was fine because Joker hadn’t showed up. There was absolutely no news of him other than some of his thugs getting free from Blackgate either legally or illegally. He wasn’t too worried about the thugs because that was normal, nobody stayed in custody for long. Even so he began trying to find some of Joker’s men but after they got free from prison, they disappeared just like Joker. Nothing to be worried about, absolutely nothing.

Alfred kept telling Bruce to get out of the cave during the day since he was starting to get behind on work at the office. He got up before Bruce and kept an eye on him to see where he would go. The younger male went straight toward the grandfather clock and Alfred quickly got right in front of him blocking the way in.

”Move Alfred.” he demanded.

”Sir, I don’t think you realize how far behind you are at the office.” he stated not moving an inch.

”It’s been over a week now Alfred and he still hasn’t shown up, it’s not like him.” he pointed out trying to reach around him but Alfred slapped his hand to keep him away from the button.

”You’re needed at the office.” he repeated.

Bruce shook his head at that and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not that bad.” Alfred raised his eyebrows and motioned to the phone. Bruce looked at the phone and back at Alfred who continued to point at the phone. He finally walked over and saw ten new voicemails. “Ten of them? Why didn’t you tell me?”

”I’ve been trying but you’re too focused on Joker, he always gets your attention just like he wants.” he stated.

Bruce rolled his eyes and began to listen to the voicemails. They were all about meetings he had missed, paperwork that was piling up, and companies calling for contracts. The last message was from his secretary and sounded really desperate to get him to the office. _Voicemail from yesterday at 3:59pm._ “Bruce…I really need you to come to the office. There’s a really persistent man wanting to talk with you and his name is Jack White. Please come to the office soon, I don’t like turning him down, he creeps me out.” stated the secretary almost whispering the last sentence like someone could hear her.

”Did you-“ tried asking Bruce but Alfred shook his head looking worried. “I’m going to the office.” he said quickly before he headed upstairs to change into a suit and then out to his car to get to work as fast as possible.

There was nobody he knew by the name Jack White and his secretary had never sounded like that before. He should have come to the office more and wished he would have listened to Alfred before it got this far. Bruce would be kicking himself in the ass if something happened to his secretary because he cared more about the Joker than her.

The secretary was at work trying to keep things up and running when she couldn’t touch the paperwork other than adding it to the pile on Bruce’s desk. Every time her phone rang she was frightened that it would be Mr. White again and didn’t need to tell him once again that Bruce hadn’t shown up for work.

Bruce got up to the top floor and walked through the doors to see his secretary. Relief flooded her body when she saw him and got out her piece of paper with notes for him. She couldn’t get a word out before her phone rang and she flinched. “Has It been that bad?” he asked really concerned.

”Not for the most part Mr. Wayne.” she assured him. “You had some of your higher ups worried about your absence and wanting to make sure you knew what was going on in the meetings.”

”What about this Jack White character?” he asked.

The secretary shifted on her feet and the phone rang again. “I’m not sure what he wants because he’ll only talk to you.”

Bruce nodded and decided to answer the phone for her. It was just her mother wanting to have a quick chat and he smiled handing it over. “Thank you.” he said softly so he wouldn’t interrupt the call too much as he took the few papers she was holding and then headed into his office.

Jack White was watching from a building across the road and smiled widely when he saw Bruce enter into his office. “About time you decided to show up.” he smiled wider and Nick came up next to Jack.

”I want in there now.” he stated laughing a little at how he was going to play with the man who basically owned Arkham.


	12. Jack White

Jack headed toward Wayne Enterprises not going to let Bruce Wayne escape since he finally decided to show up to work. He walked in and smiled at the guard who instantly frowned at him. “Why do you come here every day? Mr. Wayne will contact you if he wants to speak with you.” he stated tired of him coming in and harassing Bruce’s secretary.

”Well I actually heard that Bruce was in today.” he smiled widely.

”How would…” tried asking the guard but Jack just waved at him before he walked over to the elevator. “Wait!” he yelled out and Nick turned around to hold his hand up.

”I’ll sign any papers you need me too.” he stated so that Jack could continue to the elevators and quickly slip into one so he could head up to the top floor.

Jack smiled widely as he looked at himself in the reflection of the elevator. He turned his head to the side to make sure none of the makeup was smearing and his hat was on straight. “It’s ridiculous how well people can be fooled in this town.” he smiled widely.

The elevators soon opened and he stepped out looking straight at the secretary. She looked up with a smile that quickly disappeared. “Mr. White? I…I didn’t know you’d be stopping in again.” she stated even though this time Jack had what he wanted, Bruce. “Mr. Wayne is in today.”

”Great, I’d like to speak with him.” he said heading over to the door and the secretary quickly stood up.

”Wait! I need to make sure it’s okay.” she stated pressing a button on the phone to get Bruce’s attention. It didn’t matter though because after she looked away Jack opened the door.

Bruce looked up from his desk barely getting through his paperwork and furrowed his eyebrows. “Hello?” he asked pretty confused about who just walked in. Jack didn’t bother to answer as he turned around to close the doors behind him and lock them. “Who are you?” he asked.

”Oh Bruce, I’ve waited one too many days for you to come to work.” stated Jack as he took out a handkerchief to wipe the makeup off his face. Bruce got shivers up his back as the voice struck familiarity and stood up to walk toward the man. “I’m glad we could meet properly this time.” smiled Joker as he turned around with a wide smile.

Bruce’s heart stopped and he froze in place as Joker took off his hat to show off his green hair and some of the skin colored makeup left behind in certain spots on his face. His world was starting to crash around him since his mind was instantly going to the worse possible situation. Joker had found out who he was, he wanted to kill him, he wanted to ruin his life, and he didn’t even know if that was the reason why Joker was here.

Joker raised an eyebrow at how Bruce reacted and didn’t say anything after a few minutes. “I didn’t think I’d scare you that badly.” he admitted since they did have a short meeting at the asylum and he seemed just fine then. Bruce was probably comfortable with Joker being behind a glass wall to keep him from reaching out and grabbing him. “I kind of hoped that you’d be different from the rest of the rich stiffs in this town.”

”I am different.” he replied right away composing himself and now had to fight back Batman from coming out. “Why are you here?”

”I never spoil the fun.” he smiled moving to tap his shoulder as he moved around him and over to his desk. “You’ve been gone from the office a very long time.” he stated. “Why’s that?”

”My business.” he answered going over to get the paperwork away from him.

Joker gave it up without fight and sat down in his chair before spinning in it. “But I’m investing in some business and I need money. You threw away a lot of it trying to help us poor criminals in Arkham so you must have enough to spare for little ol’ me.” he smiled widely stopping to look at Bruce.

Bruce knew it was a bad idea to talk to him but for some reason he couldn’t stay away from Joker. That’s why he was constantly looking for him and always putting Joker first. He wished he could explain the reason for all of that but he didn’t have one. “I don’t have any for you unless you go back to Arkham where my money will help you better.”

”I don’t need or want help.” he pointed out as he got up from the chair to walk up to Bruce. “You know what I need.” he smiled widely.

”Batman.”

Joker’s smile widened more, “You’re correct! I’m glad you remembered what I said!”

”Why do you need him?” he asked.

The clown’s face instantly fell and he shook his head. “I don’t need another shrink on top of the many poking my mind already.” he stated. “Now just give me the money I need and I’ll be on my way.”

Bruce wasn’t sure if he should give it but knowing the amount he wanted would be easy to find what he was going to invest in. “Fine.”

”You keep surprising me…” he said raising an eyebrow and even though he was giving in, Bruce didn’t act scared. Then again he had never acted scared since he got here and recovered a lot faster than most people when they saw who visited them. “I need two million.”

Bruce gritted his teeth a little feeling Batman really try to come out now as he picked up his phone to call the bank and transfer two million dollars. “What’s the account?” he asked.

Joker shook his head and lifted his hand up to move his finger back and forth. “Not that easy. Tell them to hold the money for Rocko, he will be there in exactly a minute.”

Bruce relayed the message and stayed on the line to make sure things would go alright. A minute passed and Rocko walked into the bank. He went up to the counter with a smile on his face as a suitcase was set in front of him. “Thank you for your business.” he smiled.

The banker nodded, “Rocko picked up the package.” she said and Bruce thanked her before hanging up.

”Even though you care for the crazies and set yourself apart from the other elites in Gotham, you still don’t put up much of a fight.” sighed Joker shaking his head. “It was nice to have some fun with you but I’d rather have Batman any day.” he stated walking right up against Bruce and looking his face over. There was still something familiar about Bruce and wished he could place his face. “I didn’t have the time before but you look familiar.” he pointed out leaning in closer. Bruce didn’t budge and looked Joker right back in the eyes. His eyes narrowed slightly as he did his best to stay close without punching him.

Joker loved how he stood his ground and didn’t move either. He wanted to see who would move first as he stared right back at Bruce’s eyes. There was a tension growing between them and he was beginning to get the same feelings that he would have around Batman. He furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about it and straightened up so there was more space between them. “You know what, I may visit you again.”

”I wouldn’t if I were you.” warned Bruce not wanting anything more to do with Joker after today.

”If you think that’ll keep me away big boy.” he smiled widely and reached out to grab his cheek.

Bruce instinctively grabbed his wrist tightly and pulled it away from his face. He barely kept the glare off of his face and let go of his wrist after he was sure Joker wouldn’t try again. “Don’t you need to go?” he asked blowing it off.

Joker smiled widely as he looked at his wrist and back to Bruce. “I will.” he promised and definitely was going to spend more time with Bruce later. He wasn’t sure when but he would be back. He waved at Bruce as he left to meet back up with Nick outside so they could quickly leave.

Bruce didn’t call the cops even though he should have and went over to his chair to sit down before closing his eyes. He took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself and think of what he needed to do now. At first he would need to keep an eye out for two million dollars being spent, make sure no one let Jack White in again, and needed to keep Joker as far away from himself as possible. The last thing he needed was Joker finding everything about him when he didn’t know anything about the man himself. Not that he wanted too because he went to an extent to make sure no one could look him up. No fingerprints, no facial recognition, and no criminal background other than in Gotham City. He wasn’t arguing that it was fair for Joker to find out about him, he just didn’t need his identity being found out by a criminal of all things.

The billionaire sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling as he continued to think of what his first move should be. He thought back on how Joker looked before he removed the makeup. If he would have had more time to look at the man he would have recognized him but right away, he didn’t know who it was. Bruce frowned a little at the idea of how well Joker could hide from everyone if he truly wanted too and maybe that’s how he hid when there were long periods of time from him showing up. He moved back to his computer to bring up the security cameras so that he could look through them and save the footage of Joker walking in. He made sure to get stills from every camera and save the whole video so that he could run it through the Batcomputer to see if there would be a match. There had to be a match because someone like Joker couldn’t have just changed himself in one night…could he?

There was a knock on the door and he looked up as his secretary entered. “Are we done with Mr. White?” she asked.

”Yes, he shouldn’t have to come back anymore.” he assured her with a soft smile. “Thank you for putting up with him.”

”You’re welcome Mr. Wayne.” she nodded and left back to her desk glad that she did a good job even though she didn’t like Mr. White at all.

Bruce’s smile stayed on his face until she left and looked back at his paperwork. “I guess I should finish this first…” he sighed a little.

***

When he was finally done with work he went straight home so that he could run Joker’s face through the computer one more time with regular skin color and to tell Alfred what had happened. Alfred was waiting for him as he pulled up to the house, “Who was this Mr. White and what did he want?” he asked.

”It was Joker and he took two million from me.” he explained heading straight for the Batcave.

Alfred’s eyes widened as he followed a few feet behind him. “Did he only want money? Does he know you’re Batman?” he asked.

”I don’t believe he does because he only wanted the money.” he answered. “I’m going to keep an eye on an overwhelming amount of money being spent so I can catch him before he plans anything.” he stated as the elevator opened up for them and they headed downstairs. “I also sent over some footage from Wayne Enterprise’s camera feed in hopes I can get a match in the criminal database.”

”I hope there is something to find because what would you do if it was the way he looks now that changed his lifestyle?” he asked Bruce.

Bruce shook his head as the elevator opened up and he went toward the Batcomputer. “It won’t change my view Alfred. If it wasn’t his choice to change the way he looked, he was still unstable enough to let it affect him.” he pointed out.

Alfred nodded even though there was still a chance his view of Joker could change. If they knew what made him who he was they could help him out. “Whatever information you do find you’ll need to share it with Arkham.”

”I might.” he answered because it depended on what the information was. He uploaded everything and ran it through the criminal database but after a few minutes, it still came up with nothing. Bruce sighed as he leaned back in his chair and thought if Joker just got rid of his past self completely. It would have been his first kill to get rid of what he was and was more intrigued than ever to figure out someone’s past. He could definitely see how Gotham was so interested in his identity because being mysterious was intriguing and that was the definition of Batman and Joker.

Bruce knew he shouldn’t be so attracted to Joker but he knew everyone else’s past but his. He was over half of a mystery and he needed to solve it. When he had trouble he would always set it aside and not worry about it until another clue came up but he couldn’t just set Joker aside. No matter how he hated to admit it, Joker was different and he would forever be his top priority.

Joker gave a good chunk of the money to Edward so that he could start the foundations of the amusement park. He would make some changes to some of the rides and the mechanics of the place to make it a better hideout but for now they just needed some of the basic paperwork so they could start to build it. He knew the money that he got from Bruce would be important to keep but he couldn’t help but spend some of it to get more of his men out and for another game for Batman.

Bruce was a lot of fun to mess with and as he sat down after sending Nick out to take of some errands he thought back on the encounter. The rich stiff was really different and barely budged a muscle for him when he stepped close to intimidate him. He really thought that he would back away and cower like everyone else but not Bruce. Bruce hardly reacted and that got him even more interested. What could this man have faced before him to keep his courage around a maniac like him? What could have happened to keep himself calm in the face of possible death? He wanted and needed answers so he sent another thug to go collect information on Bruce’s past. At first Bruce seemed like a passing distraction but after today, he could become a hobby.


	13. Dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay my first note is that I have never wrote dick so much and the chapter didn't involve porn. Lastly, were you thinking I wouldn't upload it today? Oh you weren't the only one, this week was fucking rough but I managed to get it done after I stopped playing Huniepop (addicting, don't do it unless you want to get nothing done) and stopped working. I think I got 50 hours in this past week. Hopefully I'll be able to keep doing this on Sunday but if it ends up being uploaded on Monday, then I'm sorry but I guess I needed more time. Don't be afraid to critique me either~. This story has been going on for a bit and I believe it's the longest fanfiction I've ever done by myself right now. If it starts becoming shit, don't be afraid to tell me and I'll focus more on quality than quantity. -or ignore me because I'm feeling goddamn insecure about this fic right now-

This time when Joker didn’t appear after a few days he kept himself a lot more calm and decided to focus on Bruce Wayne. It helped him a lot because he wasn’t worrying about which villain would surface or what Joker had in store. Bruce was a getaway if things were getting a little too hectic and he needed some time to cool off. When Joker was out and not doing anything it was definitely a good thing to go into Bruce Wayne a little more. He already knew from the last few encounters that he couldn’t do anything to stop the first onslaught of Joker’s madness and the only thing to do is to stop a second one. That’s what made Joker pretty easy to catch because when he was ready to bring chaos everyone would know all the time.

Joker was finally put in the back of his mind the third day away from Batman and it was perfect timing since one of his employees talked very highly about a circus coming into town. They mostly mentioned an acrobatic family that was really exciting to watch and he even went out and bought some tickets. He didn’t bother with a date and decided that Alfred would come along because the man really needed a break from the house.

”Alfred!” he called out when he got home and began to search for where he was cleaning that night. It didn’t take him long after he found him cleaning up in the kitchen and stepped beside him to show him the tickets. “You’re going to take the night off tomorrow.” he smiled a little.

Alfred raised an eyebrow and set down the rag so he could grab one of the tickets to look it over. “A circus?” he asked.

”Yes.”

”Why a circus?” he inquired as he looked up at Bruce and wondered if he was feeling okay. It had been a few days since he donned the Batman costume and he was willing to fully book the night?

Bruce had a feeling that he would instantly become concerned and shook his head. “For once the normal criminals have been quiet and Joker still hasn’t showed up. It’s been kind of nice and I want to take you somewhere as a break.” he explained.

Alfred did believe him that time and smiled a little as he pocketed the ticket. “I will go with you Master Bruce.”

”Good.” he smiled widely and headed off to exercise a little. It didn’t matter if he took a break from the costume, his body still needed to be in tip top shape just in case if something was to happen right this moment. The last thing he needed was Batman breaking a few bones while Joker was still loose…okay maybe Joker wasn’t completely in the back of his mind.

***

Even though he wasn’t wearing the Batman suit he still thought about Joker most of the time he was awake and when it came time to go to the circus he made sure Alfred was ready before they headed out. “I’m curious Master Bruce, what made you want to come to the circus in the first place?” he asked.

Bruce led the way inside of the tent thinking about where they could sit. “A couple of co-workers were talking about an acrobatic family being the best part so I wanted to see them.”

Alfred nodded at that and followed Bruce until they found a place to sit down. He looked around finding it nice that they were out and was really glad that Bruce still had it in him to enjoy being just a regular person. “So…what is this family called?”

***

_Earlier That Week_

Dick had quickly gotten bored when his parents went with Frank, the owner to talk to someone important. He wasn’t too worried about them but he wanted to see what was going on. The circus had run into a couple problems and even lost an act. Even though it was hitting some hard times and Gotham was the first place to sell out this month. Dick wasn’t complaining because he loved an audience whether it was big or small but Frank definitely had things on his mind.

The boy did his best to follow where his parents walked off and soon heard voices. He dodged into a bush and it was his parents walking back to their trailer. Dick couldn’t hear their voices clear enough and bit his lip a little before looking toward the area they came from. Frank was still there and he looked nervous as he talked to another man who was constantly checking the surroundings. He couldn’t hear their conversation either so he decided to just head back so his parents didn’t worry about him.

***

That happened a few days ago and tonight was going to be their last. Dick tried to get his parents to talk about what had happened but they always turned the conversation in another direction. He soon gave up and focused on getting ready to put on their best show since it was the last night.

Alfred didn’t need an answer as the host of the circus stepped out into the middle to introduce the acts for the night. Dick was stretching with his family and his dad made sure he knew exactly what they were doing. “Yeah, I got it, don’t worry.” he smiled widely.

Bruce and Alfred were enjoying the show as each act went and when the Flying Grayson’s were up the younger male sat up straighter. Dick and his parents walked toward the center and from around the corner quickly came the guy that Frank was talking too. He paused in following his parents as he watched the man leave in a hurry and furrowed his eyebrows. When they called his name he snapped out of it and caught up with his parents just in time so that it didn’t look like he had fallen behind.

”The Flying Grayson’s!” shouted the announcer and moved to get out of the ring.

The family bowed a couple times before Dick and his mother climbed one pole while his dad climbed the other. “Are you ready Dick?” she asked him as they got to the top.

”I’m always ready.” Dick smiled widely and grabbed the swing before swinging toward his dad who took off at the same time. They both let go and flipped to grab the other’s swing. Dick’s dad stopped to hand it over to his mom while he did a quick switch to head back. He let go of the swing and grabbed his mom’s hand as she swung him back and dropped him next to his dad. She did a few flips to get on the other swing and his dad grabbed the one that came back toward them. That’s when Bruce looked up along the rope just by chance and saw both of them about to break. He stood up to say something but before he could open his mouth the couple reached for each other but then fell toward the ground.

Dick was about to help his family back onto the platform but they soon disappeared. He froze as he continued to look at the broken swings, hear the crowd and his parent’s screams. By the time he looked down they weren’t moving. “Dad! Mom!” he yelled out quickly going to the ladder to get back down.

Bruce quickly tried to get through the crowd cursing himself for not being ready even though there was no way he could have done anything. He knew there was nothing that could have stopped that but now there was another kid that lost their parents right in front of him. “Bruce!” yelled Alfred as he did his best to follow and not get pushed over by people who wanted to leave. Leave it to Gotham’s Elite to bail the second things looked dangerous.

Frank and a couple of other acts were down there by the time Dick got down the ladder and did their best to hold him back. “You don’t need to see it up close Dick.” stated Frank biting his lip and wondering what had happened. He always had people check the equipment and he knew the Grayson’s doubled checked it.

Dick continued to struggle against them but his strength was leaving him as he watched two of the acts go over and look at the bodies. One of them knelt down before shaking their head and getting back up. He became limp in Frank’s arms and closed his eyes tightly fighting back the tears.

Bruce ignored Alfred as he walked toward the edge of the ring looking at the bodies and at first seeing his own parents in the alleyway before shaking his head. One of the people saw him and came over. “We’d like to ask if you could leave, we need to take care of this situation.”

”I can help you any way you need it.” he assured him.

Frank soon pulled himself away from Dick so he could be left alone and went over to Bruce. “Why are you still here?”

”I’m here because I know how it is to lose my parents right in front of me. I was about his age when my parents were shot and robbed.” he explained. “I can help.”

Frank wasn’t too sure as he looked back at Dick and then at Bruce. “What’s your name?”

”Bruce Wayne.” he answered without hesitation and Frank had definitely heard that name while being in Gotham. “Please let me help.”

”Fine, you can.” he sighed moving aside so Bruce could get by.

Bruce stood still for a few more seconds before he took a deep breath and headed over to Dick. At first he didn’t say anything as he moved to sit next to him and glance back at his parents. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

Dick paused in his fight against his tears and looked up at Bruce before he wiped away the tears that had escaped. “What?” he asked really confused.

”How are you feeling?”

Dick frowned and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked the man over. He really didn’t belong at a circus and looked like a man that could care less about what had just happened. He couldn’t help but look around to make sure he wasn’t being pressured by anyone and only saw an older gentleman standing behind everyone. Alfred had a stern face on and nodded his head. “I’m feeling angry.” he answered suddenly and it even threw him off.

”Angry? Why?” he inquired.

”I could have done some-“

Bruce shook his head and interrupted him. “You couldn’t.”

”I could have!” he snapped at Bruce. “There was a man leaving the arena when we entered and he was the same guy I saw upsetting Frank.” he stated pointing back at the owner. “I wasn’t supposed to follow but I did anyway and it was the same guy, I could have said something!”

”You couldn’t have.” he repeated.

Dick glared at him and crossed his arms as he turned away. “You don’t like to listen do you?”

”Never been good at that, you can even ask Alfred.” he said motioning to the same man he spotted before.

”Who is he?” he asked.

Bruce couldn’t help but get a little sad at the question and hesitate with the answer. Dick looked at him when he didn’t answer right away and the glare slowly faded. “He’s been my dad since my parents were killed.” he answered honestly. “He is amazing and always made sure I grew up right. He’s always been there for me.”

Dick nodded slowly and looked back at the man with a completely different attitude. His face was soft and Alfred looked away from the two of them before turning around. “Did he want you to talk to me?”

”No, I wanted too because I know how you’d feel. I felt the exact same way, I was angry at everything but mostly myself. I should have done something, I could have done something but in reality I couldn’t just as you couldn’t. Bad things happen and there’s nothing you can do about them.” he explained.

Dick looked back at the ground and did feel a little better after talking with Bruce. “I know you might already know my name but it’s Dick Grayson.” he stated looking back up at him.

”It’s very nice to meet you, Dick.” he said holding his hand out and Dick took it so they could shake.

The cops arrived at that time and began to ask questions of everybody. Gordon was the one who approached Dick and pulled him aside. Bruce knew that he was in good hands because it was Gordon who was there for him before Alfred got to the precinct to pick him up all those years ago. The cops went around and were soon done interviewing everyone but he could tell they were discussing what to do with Dick. The circus wasn’t his family and they did have a schedule to keep but since he was such a good witness they couldn’t let him leave. Bruce approached the group and coughed a little to gain their attention. “Captain Gordon, can I speak with you?” he asked.

”Sure.” he nodded and followed Bruce away from everyone so they could talk privately. “What do you want to talk about?”

”I’ll take care of him until the investigation is done.” he stated.

Gordon raised an eyebrow and wasn’t too sure if he should believe him. It was almost like a different person than who was on television. “You like to be a bachelor, why would you want a kid around?”

”It’s not fair that he is an orphan thanks to a criminal and I’m the only one here who knows how that feels. I want to help him get through it and deal with the rest of investigation.” he explained.

Gordon believed him then because he would always remember when he was just a regular officer having to pick up and question a kid after his parents were shot in front of him. “Are you sure Bruce?”

Bruce nodded, “I won’t do it if he doesn’t want too.”

”I’ll go ask him then.” he stated because he was completely fine with it. Bruce had enough money to take of a care of a kid for a while and it was only temporary just in case if he changed his mind after the investigation was closed. Gordon walked over to Dick who was starting to talk with everyone and tapped his shoulder. “Dick, Mr. Wayne says it would be alright if you stayed at his place while the investigation is going on.” he stated.

Dick’s eyes widened at that and looked over at Bruce who gave him a small smile. “Why? I mean I know it’s because he lost his parents when he was young but I’m just a carnie.” he pointed out.

”Trust me, he means it.” he assured him.

The boy was still unsure about it as he looked back at his second family. “What do you guys think?” he asked.

”It’ll be the best place you’ve stayed in.” smiled Frank.

”I think it’ll be a good change for you.” smiled another friend.

”Don’t be afraid to say yes, we’ll understand.” they assured them.

Dick really did like staying with them but he also liked Bruce even if they just met. He turned around to face Gordon and nodded. “I’ll stay with him.”


	14. Getting Acquainted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright this chapter would have been up earlier today if I wasn't so god damn distracted by Arkham Knight. It also doesn't help when my brother and I are in a competition to get to 200% on each difficulty before the other. So...Dick has had most of Bruce's attention recently but don't worry, Joker's coming back.

Bruce and Alfred gave Dick all the time he needed after the cops left to get his things together and then say goodbye. Dick was a little sad to think about leaving them behind but he could always catch up with them if he needed too. “I’ll try to keep in touch.” he assured them.

”We’ll understand if you can’t because of how much we move around.” stated Frank and was the last one to give him a hug.

”I’m sure we can find where you guys are every once in a while.” he stated not sure if he wanted to just let them go.

”It’ll be okay.” they all assured him and he nodded before he turned to leave with Bruce.

Dick didn’t turn around as he walked up to them and looked at Alfred. “Hi, my name is Dick Grayson.”

Alfred smiled softly at him, “Good evening Master Grayson, my name is Alfred. Are you ready to go home?” he asked.

Dick raised an eyebrow at how formal he was to him and looked at Bruce. “So he’s…a butler?”

Bruce nodded at that and pat his shoulder a couple of times. “The best one you’ll ever find.” he smiled.

Dick wasn’t sure of what to say after that as Alfred led the way to the car and he followed behind them. Right before they exited the tent he looked back at his second family one more time and took a deep breath before leaving.

***

Joker was enjoying life and being outside of Arkham. That was the main reason he didn’t cause a ruckus yet since he didn’t want to go back so soon. When he found out that someone had killed two acrobats at the circus he decided to move his plans along. There was no way someone would upstage him while he was out. “I guess we’ll just have to start our fun a little early.” he smiled at Nick.

Nick furrowed his eyebrows at that, “You were content before the news, for all you know they could have just killed them because of a bad deal or something. No one would dare upstage you.” he reminded Joker so that he wouldn’t think he had to rush into it.

At first Joker was angry that Nick would even try to change his mind but he agreed with the last part. “You’re right, nobody would upstage me or bring Gotham the entertainment I can.” he smiled widely pushing his chair to roll back toward the desk. “Fine, I’ll wait a little longer to make sure everything and everyone is ready.”

***

Bruce knew it wasn’t right and the look Alfred gave him could have killed him on the spot. He explained that he needed to go spend some time in the Batcave and not to bother him. Dick had moved in just last night and was too tired for a tour or anything so Bruce said he’d give him one today. However he needed to get a jumpstart on the person that Dick described. It sounded like it was a goon from Falcone’s men and if it was, he needed to pay a visit to the man.

That’s why when Dick woke up, Bruce wasn’t to be found and Alfred was biting back his comments when he came across the young man. “I’m sorry young sir but Master Bruce had an appointment this morning. He will be back later today and if you would still like a tour, I can show you around.” he assured him.

Dick frowned slightly not liking how Bruce already disappeared and didn’t understand why he couldn’t hang around for an hour. “Yeah, I’d still like the tour, thanks Alfred.” he stated.

Alfred nodded as he motioned him to follow and led the way around the house. There were a lot of rooms that he told Dick that no one went in except for him to clean and he was waiting for the kid to ask why but he never did. When the tour ended back at Dick’s room he wasn’t sure of what to say. “I need to get to work so you can walk around and get more acquainted with the house.”

”Is there anything to do?” he asked.

”No, Master Bruce doesn’t do much other than going to work and reading.” he lied. “There is an exercise room and I’m sure he’ll plan on buying you things to keep yourself entertained once he’s free.”

”Cool…I guess.” he said not sure of what else to do so he went in the direction of the exercise room.

Alfred waited for him to walk far away before he headed downstairs to the grandfather clock. He pushed the button and opened it up to go downstairs to the Batcave. Bruce was still looking up all known Falcone associates when Alfred walked up behind him. “Master Bruce, you need to go upstairs and spend time with Grayson.” he stated.

Bruce looked back at him quickly before at the screen. “I’m almost done looking up all of Falcone’s men.” he stated.

”Now.” urged Alfred.

”He’ll be fine for a couple more minutes.” he stated turning around to face Alfred. “I’m almost done.” repeated.

Alfred’s frown deepened and he looked over the computer. “If you are planning on making this a permanent situation, you’ll have to actually spend time with him during the day.”

”I know.” assured Bruce turning back around and wondered if he would be able to manage another responsibility. It would be easy to tell Dick who he was but his reaction would worry him. Dick didn’t know who Batman was yet and he just had to wait long enough to see his opinion of him. “I might tell him since he’s living here.”

”You’ve already thought about it?” asked Alfred surprised.

Bruce nodded and the search finished up so he could set it aside. He got up from his chair and looked at Alfred. “I am seriously considering it but I need to know his opinion and it won’t happen until he hears about Batman.” he stated leading the way to the elevator.

Alfred agreed with him and hoped that they would be able to tell Dick about Bruce’s nightlife. It wouldn’t be fair and it would be very difficult for Bruce to keep it a secret, especially on the nights he got more than just bruises for injuries. They got back up into the mansion and split up so Alfred could get to work. Bruce went to find Dick and did find him in the exercise room but he wasn’t doing anything. Dick was just sitting on one of the benches looking at the mirror. He looked at Bruce when he walked in and raised an eyebrow. “Your meeting was fast.”

”I like to keep them that way when I have something to do.” he stated going over to sit by him. “I’m sorry that I didn’t do the tour myself.”

”It’s fine.” he assured him as he got up to look at all of the machines. “Is this seriously what you do for fun?” he asked.

Bruce scratched his head as he stood up as well. “No…I guess I don’t really have a lot of things for a kid do I?” he asked.

Dick shook his head, “It’s not like I’m a child I can get by with just this stuff.” he shrugged. He didn’t really want to bother Bruce but it would be nice to have something to do. He did like to keep in shape but not to this extent.

”We can go shopping? You’ll need more clothes anyway and I need to get you into school.”

”School? I was homeschooled I’m sure I’m just fine.” he said not that big of a fan of education.

”You need to keep going to school and then go to college.” stated Bruce because he wanted him to have the chance to do anything he wanted.

Dick crossed his arms as he looked around the room and wondered if he really needed to go. He probably did because his parents taught him things every year and soon sighed. “Fine, where should we start?”

Bruce smiled at that and motioned him to follow. “We’ll probably be spending the whole day out.”

***

The whole day was spent shopping to get Dick clothes, things to keep him occupied, and go home in time for dinner. Bruce excused himself a little early so he could go downstairs and check the police radio. He listened to it for a half hour and was about to turn it off when a situation came up. “Unit 26 to base, I just saw some of Joker’s men around Ace Chemicals. I need backup.”

Bruce didn’t need to hear the rest of it as he quickly got into his Batsuit and then jumped into the Batwing. He flew over Ace Chemicals and jumped out to land on the roof. Dick was just getting his television set up in his room and turned it on to a news station. Vicki Vale was the reporter on the screen and he must have missed half of the conversation because she was rushing into a van. “There was a report of Joker’s men heading to Ace Chemicals. We’re following some of the cops to keep giving you updates.” she stated and in the background, through the front window he saw something falling out of the sky. Dick frowned and leaned closer to the screen but by that time it was already gone. _What was that?_

Batman got inside of the building through the roof and listened closely to what was going on around him. Joker’s men must have just started getting ready because they hadn’t moved throughout the whole building yet. He was still making sure that everywhere he went had nobody and hoped that he could get to them before the cops. They didn’t know what Joker and his men were doing here yet. Ace Chemicals was an interesting place for them to hit, no other villain or criminal cared. He wondered if there was something about Ace Chemicals that Joker knew about that he didn’t.

Joker and his men purposely made sure the cops saw them so that Batman would join the party. He wanted to mess with the whole of Gotham this time around and Ace Chemicals was the best place to do it. While his men went around trashing the place and vandalizing it, he went toward the mixing chamber. He figured out a formula that would bring smiles to everyone’s faces and knew how to mix it. That’s why he took some time away from being in the news he had to figure out the formula and the best way to do it. Now he can put it in effect and act like he didn’t do anything. Joker smiled widely as he opened the door and closed it behind him. He took out a headband flashlight so he could fasten it on his head and have his hands to work with. His men would keep everyone busy and away as he secretly worked on changing the chemicals.

The cops came in the same way Joker’s men did and moved around carefully. Gordon stayed behind so that he could get the electricity on but when he got to the fuse box, there was another box beside it. He frowned a little and bent down to look it over. There weren’t any ticking noises and it looked like a normal box. Gordon thought it was safe and touched the door to the fuse box but it electrocuted him. It wasn’t lethal but he was definitely knocked out for the night.

Batman was in his element without power and he could tell where the cops were and Joker’s men. He was carefully looking around trying to find the madman behind it all but he couldn’t spot Joker. That’s when he realized that Joker was using his men as a distraction again. He thought about leaving them to the cops but on closer inspection, they had night goggles on. Batman’s frown deepened and he knew that the cops didn’t have a chance. If they didn’t want to lose most of the police force again, he’d have to stop Joker’s men.

Joker’s men didn’t bother looking up because they had orders not to kill the Batman this time around. Nick was in the front and kept looking back at the group to make sure they had the same amount. Eventually he reached a cop but instead of killing him, he moved around the group. He was distracted by watching the other cops as he moved around them and by the time he looked back at his group, there were only two of them. Nick grabbed his radio so he could give Joker the update. “Joker, Batman almost has us.” he said moving his back against the wall and looking up to see when Batman would strike.

”Thank you Nick for your hard work as always~.” complimented Joker as he finished changing the chemicals. Nick did hear the compliment before Batman knocked him out and he picked up the radio to see if he could get a lock on Joker. Joker grabbed his own radio after he left the room since he knew Batman would hold onto Nick’s for a little while. “Oh Bats~. You’re going to love my next move! My men always do such a fine job of keeping you busy just long enough for me to get everything set up. I hope you enjoy the next few days.” he stated before he laughed on the radio. When the giggles finally subsided he quickly turned to leave so that Batman wouldn’t have time to find him.

Batman knew it was impossible to catch Joker in time before he could get what he wanted but it still frustrated him. He quickly tried to follow the signal of the radio but he came across it lying on the floor. The door it was next to was still swinging shut and by the time he looked out, Joker was already gone. He still tried running out and following where the man could have gone but Joker was fast. Batman grappled up to the roof of Ace Chemicals to think about what Joker’s words meant. _I hope you enjoy the next few days._ The vigilante’s frown deepened as he called the Batwing back so he could head home. He wasn’t sure what Joker was planning with the building and knew the cops would do a full sweep anyway. Batman hoped that there was a bomb inside because that would be easy to work with.

Vicki stuck around to report on anything she possibly could slip by the cops and as they were taking them out, Nick looked over at her. “Batman sure makes catching us easy doesn’t he?” he asked her and Vicki turned around to the camera.

”And it’s been confirmed, Batman was the one who captured Joker’s men but he was still incompetent enough to let Joker escape. This seems to be a recurring theme with Batman, is he tied in with Joker somehow or is Joker really that good at running away?” she asked.

Dick was surprised to hear her raise those questions because Batman and Joker could easily be upset by it. He had a lot of questions about who Batman and Joker were. He also wanted to know what their motives were. This was the first time he heard about a villain with a weird name and someone working alone to stop him all by himself without police help. Dick turned to get his laptop out of its box and get it working so that he could look up what people were saying about Batman and Joker, he had a lot to learn about Gotham.


	15. Chemicals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.........yeah I couldn't update last week. I had something happen that I never would have expected and it kept me from writing. This past week was also super busy and I hope that I can find more time to write. It took me way too long to finish this chapter for my liking but I hope it still comes out good. Sorry for the delay and I'll try to get back to the weekly updates!

Bruce was glad to hear later on the radio that they found no bombs and the only thing wrong with Gordon was a shock to the system. His curiosity wasn’t sated though he needed to know why Joker went in, lost his men and left without a big show. The next few days, he would scout out Ace Chemicals along with the cops but the third day he was the only one still looking around. Nothing had happened and there wasn’t a sign of the Joker left. As much as he wished for his nerves to be calm, they weren’t. He was still on a high and didn’t see himself calming down any time soon. Dick could see it and tried asking what was wrong but he always assured him everything was fine.

The fourth day after Joker had been spotted he was getting ready for work and there was a breaking news story. Four people were found dead yesterday with smiles that resembled the Joker’s. They didn’t show a picture and didn’t have much of a connection with the other people who had died but there was something going on. Bruce knew that he would have to make his time short at Wayne Enterprise’s now so that he could sneak into the police files and see what was happening.

Gordon was there at the autopsy and they couldn’t find anything wrong. Their smiles were wide and their lips were red but other than that, nothing else in their system pointed to a wrongful death. It was going to be hard to figure out what he had done and hoped they could get Joker to make him tell them what he did.

Luckily, he didn’t have to work that hard because when he got to his office and turned on the television, Joker was broadcasting a commercial. Joker had broken into the television station and was currently holding the broadcasting booth hostage. He made sure they put his tape in and stopped every broadcast so that his commercial aired. He snickered as the commercial started up. “Hello everybody! I’m sorry for interrupting your day time boredom shows but I need to make sure everyone knows about my Joker products!” he smiled widely and was walking own a makeshift aisle of a grocery store. Bruce had his television on in his office and he stopped all work to focus on the screen. When he heard the word “products” he instantly knew why Joker was in Ace Chemicals. “They will bring a smile to your face every morning. No need for coffee…” he stated grabbing some from the shelf and tossing it away. “All you need are these!” he finished as he held his arms out wide to show off a section of the shelf holding Joker products. It had deodorant, hair spray, lipstick, cologne, and about all the things that could be found in the bathroom.

Bruce decided that it was time to leave the office and head out to his car. He had a lot of work ahead of him but there was also a quick way to end it all, find Joker. He started having a suit in his car so that if a problem arose like this, he could hopefully jump on it quickly as Batman. It was also so that Joker knew that even during the day, Batman would be there to help. Joker’s broadcast wasn’t done yet as he made the broadcast worker pull up the clip from earlier. “Four people have died…” repeated the reporter.

”At least my test subjects died with smiles on their faces.” smiled Joker. “My products will work every time but if you don’t believe me, just wait, you’ve probably already bought them!” he stated as he began to laugh and it got louder before the commercial ended.

Bruce got done putting the suit on when the commercial ended and headed toward the studios that owned the channel. He hoped he would get there in time so that he could get him to talk and fix what he had done at Ace Chemicals. The last thing he expected to learn about Joker, was that he was good at mixing chemicals and would have to use that to his advantage next time.

Joker bowed a little to the one man in the office he was in and he looked at the man’s face which was pale. “Ooooh, did you just buy some new toiletries?” he asked really curious about it but the man didn’t reply, just looked scared. He slowly moved closer to him and the man leaned back a little. Before Joker could say anything the man let out a giggle. The giggle soon turned into laughter and he continued to laugh as his mouth widened and his lips turned red. “Another happy customer!” he smiled widely before he stepped over the man and left the room.

Batman got to the studio just in time because Joker was running out the back. He should have gone inside but he knew the cops would know where he was so he went after Joker. Joker ran up to a car but before he could get inside, Batman slammed his head into the car. He laughed a little and looked back at Batman. “Are you getting faster?” he asked.

”I need too.” he answered forcefully turning Joker around and pinning him to the car. “What’s the combination?” he asked.

Joker’s smile only widened at the question. “What combination?” he teased.

Batman growled a little and punched him in the face. “Stop joking!”

Joker only laughed after he was hit and couldn’t stop laughing. Everything was a joke to him and Batman punched him again. It successfully cut off the smaller man’s laughter and was only able to move his body a little bit. Joker raised his eyebrows though when he did move and looked up at Batman. “You like hitting me don’t you?” he asked.

Batman was caught off guard and put some space in between in their bodies. “Just tell me what you did so I can fix it.” he stated.

”You liked it so go on, hit me some more.” smirked Joker and tried to punch Batman so that he could antagonize him. Batman stopped the punch before returning a punch in the gut. Joker laughed and tried to step close again but Batman pinned him against the car. “I can tell you like hitting me, what else do you like about me?”

At first Batman didn’t know why he was getting so happy and knew that the interrogation wouldn’t go the way he wanted from the beginning but he needed answers. “Tell me how to fix it.”

”Not until you tell me why you’re so excited.” stated Joker smiling wider and moved his hips against Batman so that he knew what he was talking about. Batman froze at the feeling and soon pinned Joker with his arms to put space in between them. “You are even more interesting now.” he said before kneeing him in the crotch. Batman’s arms weakened as he bit his lip and Joker pushed at his chest. “Sorry Bats, I won’t help you, figure it out yourself.” he bowed before running off again.

Batman growled a little and stood back up to go after Joker. He ran as fast as he could but somehow he had lost the clown. Joker had back up plans as well and made sure that one of the nearby buildings would have a door unlocked for him to escape into. Batman continued down and soon called his car so that he could drive around and make sure that Joker still wasn’t nearby. Luck wasn’t on his side and he headed back to the Batcave. He parked the Batmobile and got out glad to see Alfred waiting there.

”Any luck Master Bruce?” he asked.

”I almost had him but he got away.” he said gritting the answer through his teeth. Bruce got undressed and into some comfortable clothes so he could go back upstairs. “We need to go shopping.” he stated.

”How do you want to tell Master Grayson?” he asked.

Bruce didn’t think about that and decided to go find him. He wanted to see what he was doing and if he knew what was going on. Dick was in his room still searching about Gotham and did find a few news articles about what Joker was doing now. Bruce knocked on his door and Dick looked up before setting his laptop aside. “Come in.”

Bruce was smiling when he walked inside of his room and looked around. “You’re getting comfortable.” he stated.

Dick nodded and looked around his room as well. “It’s nice to have a home without wheels.” Bruce moved to look at his laptop and Dick helped him see it. “I’ve been kind of researching about the new town I’m calling home.” he explained.

”What are your feelings on it so far?” he asked really wanting to know what he was going to say.

”Well…it’s definitely a lot to take in because I don’t think I have ever heard of a vigilante that didn’t kill.” he started. “I think…that even though he’s not fully operating with the law, Batman is doing what the cops do except better.” Bruce nodded glad that Dick had such a good impression of Batman. He might be able to tell him soon but he was mostly focused on Joker at the moment. “I don’t understand Joker though…” stated Dick as he looked back at his computer. “His actions make no sense and I don’t know why they can’t keep him in the jail.”

”Actually, they deemed him insane at Blackgate and that’s why he goes to Arkham Asylum. I’m sure they can figure out a way to help him.” explained Bruce.

Dick looked at him with a frown on his face and closed his laptop. “I don’t think he can be fixed.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow at that, “You don’t?”

”No, he obviously doesn’t care and shows no remorse with anything he does. I don’t think he cares about being fixed and won’t try.”

”Maybe you’re right…but do you feel like going shopping with us?” he asked thinking that maybe this could be how he showed Dick who he was.

Dick looked at him with confusion and worry. “Haven’t you heard the news?”

”Trust me.” he smiled.

Dick still wasn’t sure but he nodded and moved to change into different clothes while Bruce walked out of his room. Alfred was there with a questioning look. “He has a good opinion of Batman and I think this will be the best way to tell him.”

”You made up your mind very quickly sir.”

Bruce shrugged and looked back at Dick’s room. “He’ll understand things a lot better and it’d be nice for everyone to be on the same page here.”

Alfred could see his reasoning but he was also concerned about Dick himself. “What if Master Grayson wants to help you?” he asked.

”Help me?”

”Help Batman.” he answered. “His family died from the criminals in this town as well and he may want vengeance which is how you started out.” he reminded him. “If he knows who you are he might want to help you out.”

Bruce didn’t think about that and their conversation had to end as Dick came out of his room. “What are we shopping for? We’re not getting things that the Joker contaminated right?”

”Just a few things.” he answered purposely being vague.

***

When they got to the store there wasn’t anyone near the toiletries. No one didn’t want to get close and even the ones that were in the pharmacy were unsure of why they were so close. Bruce and Dick walked over to the deodorant to start grabbing all the products that was shown by the Joker Dick watched Bruce for a few minutes before looking around. Nobody would look at them and if they did, they were in fear of what they were doing. “Bruce…Joker contaminated all of these, why are you buying them?”

”You’ll see.” he answered soon having one of everything and went to go check out.

The cashier raised his eyebrow and looked at Bruce before at Dick then back at Bruce. “Mr. Wayne, I don’t think…” she started.

Bruce interrupted her by lifting his hand. “It’s okay, I know what’s going on.” he smiled at her. At first the cashier still didn’t move but after a few minutes and not seeing Bruce’s attitude change she began to ring it up for him. He paid for it all and had Dick help carry them to the car.

”What are you going to do with all of these?” he asked.

”You’ll see.” he said as they drove back home and Dick only had more questions popping up in his head. There wasn’t a reason to be so vague and calm about this situation when everyone else acted like the products were the plague. It’s obvious they know the Joker meant business but Bruce wasn’t scared. He wanted to know why he wasn’t scared because it didn’t seem like Bruce was interested into the chemicals, just running a business.

When they got home Bruce took the bags and waved at Dick. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” he stated heading off to the living room. Dick raised an eyebrow wondering what he was going to do but he also wanted to learn more about Joker.

Joker was laughing and having a good time in his hideout as he kept an ear out for more news of his smiling bodies. They can’t say he was too cruel to them since they all died with a smile. His laughter paused as he remembered the recent fight with Batman and even though it was slight arousal he felt, he still felt it. He wasn’t sure and would definitely not ask anyone if they got the same reaction. Joker wouldn’t blame Batman if he got a high out of beating up villains because he got a high out of watching people react to him. He may still be a new criminal but everyone reacts in absolute fear when they see him. The reasons are an endless list to fear him but it could be boiled down to one reason, no one can predict him.

”Bats will be figuring out the combination any day now.” he said to himself wondering what else he could do to Gotham. After that trip to Ace Chemicals he began to work on something fun to add to his suit. He already had cards with razor edges and he started to carry them around every time he left his hideout. Now he had a flower donned on his suit and inside of the pollen was a poisonous gas. It wouldn’t kill a person since he can’t put enough in the small flower but it would still paralyze them for him to get away. He couldn’t wait for the next encounter with Batman and for some reason he kept remembering what he had felt. It wasn’t like he cared that much about Batman and what he thought but if he was the only one that brought it out of him, then that would move their relationship to another level.


	16. Sharing the Secret

Bruce went down to the Batcave and began to work with the products. He wanted to find out if just one would kill somebody or if there was more to it. It won’t take long for him to figure it out since he had his computer and Dick was keeping himself busy. If anything Alfred would be the only to bug him and he usually didn’t as long as nothing big was going on. For the most part, Joker was keeping quiet and letting his chemicals kill off civilians. Batman was needed to figure out what had Joker had done, he wasn’t needed anywhere else.

It still took a couple hours for him to upload all the samples and try each one with another. His work was soon rewarded as he came up with all the deadly combinations. Just using one of the products wouldn’t kill someone but if they used deodorant with perfume/cologne, then it would kill them. Bruce knew he had to get it to the paper as soon as possible but he was also tired. He stood up stretched out his limbs and that was when Alfred got to the Batcave.

”Master Bruce, dinner is ready.” he stated and couldn’t help but look at what he had been doing. “You figured it out?” he asked.

”Yes, I’ll be upstairs right after I send all of this to Gordon anonymously.” he answered.

Alfred smiled a little glad to see that all of his efforts paid off just in time for dinner. “You’re actually going to eat dinner with us?” he teased.

Bruce smiled at that as he turned back to the computer to send the files over. “Yes, I am actually going to eat dinner at a normal time.”

Dick had the television turned on as he waited for Alfred and Bruce to come upstairs. He hadn’t eaten with Bruce a whole lot yet which is why he ended up mostly focusing on the television. News of the combination of products was just being announced when Bruce and Alfred walked in. “Batman has figured it out!” started the female reporter with a smile on her face. “These are the deadly combinations, deodorant with perform or cologne, lipstick with face wash, and hairspray with body wash.”

Bruce smiled at the television as he sat down and Alfred set down the plates. “I’m glad to see Batman figured it out.”

”Yeah but how?” asked Dick looking over at Bruce and then back at the screen.

”That’s why he’s a hero, he makes miracles happen.”

Dick turned off the television and thanked Alfred for the food before he began to eat. He continued to think about how Batman would be able to buy all the products, test them out, and then get it to GCPD. That’s when he remembered how Bruce and him went shopping earlier and then a few hours later, Batman figured it out. He could tell that Bruce was a supporter of Batman and maybe there was a chance he knew him? Dick slowly ate his food as he thought and missed most of the conversation going back and forth between Bruce and Alfred. Bruce did keep looking at Dick but he couldn’t tell if he was worried or if he wanted to know what he knew. He wasn’t even sure what he knew himself but he would like to find answers.

Bruce soon got up so that he could head downstairs and get ready for a night of watching for Joker. Joker was out and about purposely looking for Batman so that he could congratulate him. He would scare some people off and even walked into a shop to gain more attention. When he heard sirens though he soon had to climb up to get the cops off his tail and there was a better chance of running into Batman up high. His luck did turn as soon as he got on the roof and was kicked in the back. Joker barely kept himself from falling to the ground and turned around to face Batman. “Bats! You finally found me!” he smiled widely.

”Only because you wanted to be found.” he pointed out as he stood still watching the other man.

Joker didn’t do much other than stand and watch Batman. After a few minutes Joker rolled his eyes, “Intense conversation as always. I’m glad you found out how to save everyone…again.” he said with a little less of a smile. “Now time for us to fight.”

Batman was prepared when Joker lunged at him and stepped aside to bring his elbow down onto Joker’s back. Joker couldn’t dodge it and fell to the ground. He quickly recovered before Batman could strike again and kicked his legs out toward Batman’s. Batman jumped up and when he landed he kicked at Joker who was able to grab his foot and pull. Joker’s laughter rang out as Batman lost his balance and pulled his leg back to quickly stand up again. The clown didn’t go straight into another attack letting Batman get his bearings. “We are so closely matched, imagine if we were on the same side.” he stated.

The vigilante did take a few seconds to imagine what it would be like. Joker would be a formidable opponent against every other villain and thug. He had the hidden power behind his figure, the brains to catch them in a trap, and his own way of making tools to fight with.

Joker was thinking of the complete opposite that Batman was thinking of. He was seeing the both of them beating up cops, luring people into false hope before killing them, and ruling the city together. “Too bad we couldn’t meet a different way.” laughed Joker as he took out a card and threw it.

Joker’s movement caught Batman’s eye and brought him back to reality in time to dodge the first card but not the second. The second skimmed the side of his armor keeping himself from getting hurt and was ready when he threw the third. He caught it and threw it back to Joker. Joker barely moved out of the way and didn’t see the punch coming. It made his head spin a little and Batman grabbed his collar. “It’s time to go back to Arkham.”

The clown laughed a little as his vision finally cleared up. “Not yet.” he smiled widely and reached up for his flower. “Take a whiff Batman.” he cackled as he released some of the gas. Batman saw his hand go up but it didn’t click fast enough that it would be dangerous. He dropped Joker to try and back away. Joker took that as the time to leave but he was glad he could show Batman his new trick.

Batman felt his left hand freeze up and wasn’t sure what Joker had done to it. He quickly went to the Batmobile so that he could get home and have it looked at by Alfred. “Alfred?” he asked as he began to call the older gentleman. There wasn’t an answer right away so he assumed that he was keeping Dick busy. That was another good reason to tell Dick because then he and Alfred could work together in the Batcave and not have to worry about Dick finding out. The more he thought about Dick knowing his night life, the better it looked. It could just be him wanting more people to know so that he had people to talk too. Either way, first his hand and then he can figure out if he should outright tell Dick.

Alfred checked on Dick after cleaning up dinner and then went down to the Batcave. He could see that Bruce tried to contact him but just as he was about to call him back, he heard the Batmobile. The older man turned around to watch as Bruce got out of the car and had a little trouble. His eyes narrowed as he walked over to the platform and continued to watch Bruce. He noticed one of his hands was stuck at an angle of trying to hold onto something. “Master Bruce?” he inquired.

”Joker, he sprayed a gas at me and I didn’t pull away fast enough.” he explained and moved closer to Alfred so he could look at it.

”It must be half of the chemical that he used to kill all those people.” he stated looking his hand over. “It’s just nerve gas because your hand looks normal and you would have died on the way here if it was deadly.”

”My thoughts exactly.” agreed Bruce and went to the Batcomputer so that he could pull up the chemical again. “I’ll isolate the nerve damaging part and make an antidote.”

Alfred walked over with him so he could grab his hand again and look it over. He was paranoid and wanted to make sure that nothing else was happening to his hand. “How long do you think it will take?” he asked.

”I’m not sure but I hope it happens fast because I don’t know what prolonged exposure will do.” he stated moving to sit down in the chair and leaned back. “I’ll be upstairs soon.” he promised.

”Are you sure I can leave you alone?” he asked just a little worried that maybe Joker didn’t have something else up his sleeve with spraying Bruce with the gas.

Bruce smiled a little at that and shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”

An hour later when he had made an antidote and his hand was gaining back mobility he left the Batcave to get something to eat. He was starving after all he did to try and catch Joker. As he was leaving the cave though Dick was walking into the living room trying to find Bruce. He saw Bruce coming out of an elevator that was behind a clock. “Bruce?” he asked.

Even though he was trying to help Dick find out his night life he still froze and felt his heart race a little. He quickly recovered as he kept the clock open and looked over to the teenager. “Yes Dick?” he asked.

”Why…is there an elevator behind the clock?” he asked.

Bruce looked at the elevator and back at Dick hoping that he had done the right thing with telling him. He would also need to make sure that Dick knew that he wouldn’t be able to help if he tried to offer. “Do you want to see?”

Dick nodded at that and stepped toward the elevator. He still looked a little unsure and his mind was racing with possibilities. Maybe Bruce was Batman but why would he be doing it if he had all the money in the world? He soon entered the elevator and Bruce got in next to him before they went down to the Batcave.

The lights lit back up as the elevator doors opened and it showed the Batwing, Batmobile, the computer console, and his suit was still lying on the table. “You’re really Batman?” he asked.

”Yes.” answered Bruce as he led the way down so he could look over everything. “A few years after my parents died I decided to leave Gotham. At first it was just a vacation and I was thinking about never returning but I kept thinking about what had happened. I wanted to avenge my parents but I also wanted to stop it from happening ever again.” he began to explain.

Dick was listening to him as he looked over everything and saw a syringe sitting on the desk. He looked back at Bruce and studied him a bit before he saw him opening and closing his left hand. It wasn’t working right, moving slow and jittery. That could only mean that he had left to do something and had gotten hurt.

”I trained for many years with many teachers until I decided to return home. Everyone wanted to know what I had done but to them, it was just a long vacation with Alfred. It didn’t take long for me to pick out what I wanted to be. It was time for me to face my fears and use it to frighten the criminals into thinking twice about hurting people.” he stated picking up his cowl. “I haven’t been Batman for very long.” he admitted.

”Why are you telling me?” he asked because it was obvious that he tried to keep his secret from everybody so why him? He had barely lived here a month and Bruce was willing to tell him his biggest secret.

Bruce didn’t answer right away because he wasn’t sure of how to answer it. He knew that it would be hard to keep his secret from him especially with how much of a menace Joker was becoming but there was something else there. Even though he is a busy man with two lives, Dick had grown on him and he might even consider himself a father figure but not the best one. “I really care about you and I trust you.”

Dick had to take a few seconds and let it sink in about how Bruce had answered his question. It was nice to hear that someone cared and trusted him even though he hasn’t been around long. He definitely felt more at home knowing what Bruce was doing when he wasn’t able to eat with them or was sleeping in. “You catch criminals but don’t kill them, no matter what?” he asked.

”Yes, there is no point in me becoming just like them. This city needs someone who is better than that. Someone who hasn’t been corrupted by Gotham.” he explained.

”Have you caught the guy who killed my parents?” he asked.

”The cops have, they did it right before the release of Joker products.”

”He’s still alive though right?”

Bruce nodded his head at that, “He got life in prison but realistically he won’t be staying in there. I have no idea how people keep getting bail and out of Blackgate.”

”I want to he-“ started Dick but Bruce raised his hand up to stop him.

”No, you will not help me. You’re still a child and need to finish school. After that, you’ll go to go college.” he explained and picked up the rest of his suit before putting them away.

Dick’s eyes widened a little bit and he quickly followed after Bruce. “Why not? I can learn everything you know and something happened today with your hand. Who was it?”

Bruce shook his head at that, “You don’t need to worry about what happened, I made an antidote and everything will be fine. I can take care of this by myself.”

”You just got done saying that you care about me! How often do you get hurt?” he asked studying his body for any other injuries. Now that he knew about his nightly outings he would worry and could see why Alfred always had something else on his mind.

”Dick, you are not helping me. You’re still young and need to go to school.” he repeated. Dick still wasn’t happy about it and quickly headed back toward the elevator. What was the point of Bruce telling him if he wasn’t going to let him help? His parents died in this city too, he deserved to help him. Bruce sighed a little as he left but was glad that he could finally tell Dick about Batman. He didn’t have to worry about Dick finding out anymore. He just had to make sure that Dick understood that while he was still underage, he had to go to school and be a normal kid.


	17. The Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooooooooookay! I got it written up finally and I believe it is good. It should be a good bridge toward the relationship and things will start to pick up a little more after this. Just to let you know, I'm still thinking about the next chapter and it may take more than a week again but hopefully not more than a month like this past one. Thanks for waiting!

Bruce began to study how to read a person’s face. If he could figure out how to read Joker’s face he might gain some insight into what he’s thinking about, his motivation, and maybe start to think ahead of the madman. He started learning a while ago but it took some time to get to know how to use the knowledge and actually spot the correct emotions. That’s why he was going back over everything and doing the tests again. There was no harm in making sure he remembered everything and the next time he would confront Joker, he would be ready. Bruce had many reasons why he was going through all of this again but the main reason, was to find the man behind the smile, there was no way anyone could be fully a monster.

Harley began to visit Joker a few days after he messed with Batman and helped him figure out some of the Blackgate weaknesses since they improved their security as well. She was giving him all the information and one day as she came to visit him he didn’t come to the door right away. It surprised her because it was almost like he never slept. He would be awake when she left and would be wide awake by the time she’d come visit him even if she never told him what time she’d be around. That’s why when she walked into his hideout and he wasn’t up yet she quickly headed upstairs.

Joker was still asleep and having what normal people called a nightmare while he called it a joke. Everything was a joke to him and it has been since that day. A day he couldn’t remember correctly and it wasn’t that long ago. He remembered being stressed, being laughed at, and being happy. It was fuzzy past that point but it didn’t matter to him either, he was a lot happier now, always laughing.

_”Oh, you didn’t get a job?! I know that’s what you’re thinking but I go up there.” he growled a little as he looked away. “I have to stand up there and no one laughs! You probably think…you think I…” he said softly as his voice trailed off._

Harley got to the room and began to shake Joker wondering if he was okay. She hated seeing him actually sleep because he barely moved, almost like he was sedated all over again. There was no way he could be sedated here but she didn’t like to see him asleep, she liked to see him awake and smiling. “Mista J, it’s time to get up.”

Joker for once in his life was glad to open his eyes and see Harley. He hated bad jokes and that dream was part of the worst. He smiled at her and saw Harley visibly relax. “I must have stayed up to late thinking about tomorrow.” he stated not wanting her to worry about him when he was just fine.

”I can see you doing that.” she smiled widely and pulled away so he could have room to get up from the bed.

”Do you have the rest of the specs?” he asked her holding his hands out for them.

Harley nodded as she set her bag down on his bed and took out the plans. “I also included all of the guard’s movements and some of the inmates that you might want to avoid or set free.” she stated since she wasn’t sure if he’d want to rescue anyone other than his thugs. Joker opened it up and began to look over it. He also walked out of his room and toward the office where all of his supplies were. Harley didn’t like the idea of Joker going to Blackgate willingly when there was a chance that he could get captured. She tried her best to keep it off her face because she didn’t want Joker knowing what she was thinking about. Luckily he was busy looking over the plans and grabbing some other things so she could worry behind him.

Joker soon looked back at her and frowned when he saw she wasn’t smiling. “What’s troubling you my dear?” he asked turning around completely so he could grab her hands.

Harley tensed up when he spotted her troubled face and bit the inside of her cheek before smiling. “Nothing, I just can’t wait until you have some help.” she smiled but at the corners of her eye, there were no wrinkles.

”Nothing at all…” he repeated back to her and pulled away. “Go worry about someone else, I’ll be fine without you.”

”Mi-“ started Harley but Joker quickly turned around holding a card up. “I’ll go.” she agreed not wanting to have it thrown at her and quickly left.

Joker smiled a little glad to see her leave, his happiness of her being around never lasted long. He turned around to continue finishing his work and getting his plan done.

***

Batman cursed himself for not thinking that Joker would go after his men. He didn’t think that he would care and try to get them out. The only reason he could come up with for him doing it is that he was planning something big again. He needed to stop it this time and send Joker back to Arkham.

The police, guards, and news reporters were going crazy as the story leaked about Joker breaking into Blackgate. It was strange news and it caught everyone’s attention. Dick and Alfred already knew about it because of Bruce and Dick was staying downstairs to help Alfred. Batman didn’t need help so far but they were ready for anything he would need.

Joker knew that everyone would be wanting to find out what he was doing breaking into Blackgate but he didn’t care about anyone else right now. His goal was to get his men out and maybe let a few murderers and maniacs out as well. He was opening up every cell he passed and he wasn’t even halfway through before he had all of his men free. “Ready boys?” he asked after they looted guards to get guns and armor.

”Ready!” they shouted and followed out after everyone else that Joker let free.

The chaos made it hard for Batman to find the correct people to target and so far, the only people who were trying to leave through the exits wasn’t Joker or his men. It made him wonder if Joker had another way out or if everyone who was protecting the exits would be shot at. He decided to go for the one to bring most casualties because that was something Joker would want. “Alfred, I need you to call Gordon and tell him to get his men behind cover, I believe Joker is going to come out with the intentions of killing as many as he can.”

”I’ll get it done.” nodded Alfred heading over to the phone so that he could call out anonymously.

”What can I do?” asked Dick and Bruce paused for a second when he heard the voice. “Bruce, I can help too.”

”Go back upstairs and get ready for school on Monday.” he ordered before continuing on to find Joker.

Dick gritted his teeth as he pulled away from the computer and crossed his arms. “Why doesn’t he let me help?” he asked Alfred once he was done with the call.

Alfred sighed a little as he came back to his side to wait for Bruce to contact them again. “I also believe that you’re too young Master Grayson.” he admitted. “It took Bruce many years away from home before he could perfect himself and even when he started, he still got hurt multiple times, made mistakes, and even thought about ending Batman’s career. He’s still new to this himself and doesn’t want you to go through what he did.”

”It doesn’t hurt to have help, I can get better and be a good partner.” he pointed out.

”Maybe but you need to convince Bruce of that before it will ever happen.” Alfred reminded him and felt bad because it would be nice if there was someone else to watch over Bruce and he would be there to watch over Dick as well.

Batman soon found a group of people who were armored and had guns. He spotted Joker a few seconds later and narrowed his eyes. It would be easy to get them all out but if he focused on the thugs, Joker would escape and if he focused on Joker, the thugs would shoot him. He grabbed a smoke pellet and dropped it onto the ground. The only thing that made sense was to get Joker away from the group. He activated detective mode and spotted Joker backing away from the smoke while keeping his guard up. It didn’t matter though as he quickly ran at him and picked him up off the ground. Joker yelled out at the sudden attack and began to struggle.

The pair didn’t get far because Joker was hitting, kicking, and when he realized who had him he stopped struggling. “There is nobody better to sweep me off my feet.” he smirked but he reached into his sleeve and took out a knife so he could dig it into his back where the armor separated.

Batman bit his lip and loosened his grip on Joker giving him just enough to pull away from him. “I didn’t want to fight, I wanted to talk.” he growled as he looked at Joker.

Joker raised his eyebrows, “You want to talk and not beat me up? That’s unusual.” he said but didn’t try attacking him again.

The vigilante still waited a few extra moments to make sure Joker wasn’t trying to fool him. When he felt like he had calmed the storm for now he decided to start. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.

The clown rolled his eyes and tossed the knife from hand to hand. “I’m pretty sure there’s enough shrinks for me at the asylum to ask me that.” he stated focusing on the knife.

Batman didn’t want him looking down and threw a batarang to knock the knife out of his hands. Joker looked up with a wide smile and reached up his sleeve but Batman shook his head. “Just focus for me, I only have a few more.” he assured him. “Then we can fight.” he promised.

”Fine, I’ll be a good boy for a few minutes.” Joker smiled widely and crossed his arms so he could watch him.

Batman found it strange that he was already taking a protective stance by crossing his arms. “Why are you so fixated on me?” he asked.

Joker’s pupils dilated slightly at the question before he blinked and the dilation was gone. “We need each other.”

”We need each other?” he repeated finding it strange how responsive Joker was or how he just didn’t pay attention when they first met.

”Oh do not make me repeat myself Bats!” he snapped. “I know you listen well, those ears aren’t just for show.”

Batman couldn’t help from a slight smile appearing on his face before he pushed it aside. “What made you change?” he asked. He had a feeling that it had to be something that happened to him. There was always a trigger for somebody to change and knowing what made Joker would help him get better, everyone could get better.

Joker slowly let his arms fall to the side and there was soon a card in his hand. “I think you’ve asked enough questions for today.” he stated before throwing the card at his face.

Batman was too surprised at the quick micro expression that Joker’s face held that the card caught him on the cheek. He hissed and snapped out of it as he lunged toward Joker.

”I’d be careful what you’re about to do.” piped up Nick and Batman stopped as soon as he saw the cop in front of Nick with a gun to his head. “You’re not as smart as you hoped you are.” he smirked and Joker clapped his hands.

”Perfect timing Nick! Now, shoot Batsy so we have a head start.” he ordered as he walked over to him. Nick nodded and pointed at the gun at Batman before shooting him in the symbol. The two of them took off so they could join the rest of the group outside and get back to the warehouse.

The cop that was being held hostage quickly got up and walked over to the body lying on the ground wondering if he did just really die. He bent down to look at his face and where he was shot. The bullet did hit directly on the bat symbol and before he could reach out to see if there was blood Batman’s eyes shot open and he quickly got back on his feet. “Jesus Christ!” yelled out the cop as he stumbled backwards and scooted away from him. “I thought you died!”

Batman shook his head but didn’t care to give any explanation before taking off after Nick and Joker. Of course the effect of being shot gave them just enough time to give everyone the slip. He growled a little and headed up to the roof. His hands clenched the edge of the roof as he scanned around to trying to find where he had gone. Even though he didn’t catch Joker and bring him back to Arkham, the quick conversation the two of them had was all he needed. “Alfred is there any other crimes going on? I found out some information that I need to bring back.” he asked over the radio.

”No, there’s nothing that the cops already heard of and are taking care of it.” assured Alfred.

”What information do you think he has?” asked Dick finding it interesting that he would even find anything out just by talking to the madman.

”Master Bruce has many means of getting information and by his history on the batcomputer, talking and seeing Joker’s face was all he needed.” he stated as he brought up the search histories and books that Bruce had skimmed to make sure he still had the information correctly.

Dick raised his eyebrows as he looked it all over. “You’re telling me he can tell if someone is lying by the face?” he asked wondering if he should start picking it up.

Alfred shook his head, “It’s hard to know if everyone is lying just by reading these few tricks. I’ve read it myself once and didn’t really get it into like he did. I do remember one thing that all of them mentioned. It’s easier to tell if someone is lying if they’re a family member, spouse, or someone you’ve talked to a lot.” he explained.

”But…does he know enough about Joker?” he asked wondering if the information he had would be sufficient enough. He was paying attention to the conversation just like Alfred was and didn’t see anything himself.

”Joker has become more than just a hobby Master Grayson.” he stated as he closed down the history and then pulled up the Joker file. As scarce as it was, it had all of the information that Arkham has, security footage from everywhere he has been, accounts from lucky survivors, and a lot of pictures. “Every vigilante has a nemesis and even though Joker wasn’t the first here for Batman to beat up and capture, he is the one that he pays attention to the most.”

Dick couldn’t believe how most of the folder were pictures of Joker and looked at his face. He really didn’t understand how Batman could have seen anything on Joker when 99.9% of the time he looked like a smiling maniac. The teenager scratched his head and leaned back in his chair as he continued to think about it. Even though he was a detective and getting as much information as possible, this didn’t seem like it was just figuring out his enemy. He leaned forward again and began to look over everything and the pictures. After that he opened up the other folders to see how he gathered information with the other criminals. It didn’t take long before he saw the difference, there wasn’t as many photos. Why would he need so many photos of just Joker?

By that time the batmobile was pulling back into the cave and he quickly closed all the windows. Alfred walked over to the car and when Batman got out he was glad that he wasn’t hurt. “I see that the trick we put into your suit works perfectly.” he stated looking over the bullet hole.

”It did but Joker didn’t order Nick to kill me, just to shoot me so it makes me wonder if he knew that it was a trick.” he stated and began to head toward the computer. Dick quickly got out of the seat and smiled when Bruce saw him. “You should be getting ready for school. It starts on Monday.” he reminded him.

Dick frowned a little and crossed his arms. “I can help in between school days.” he stated.

”Maybe after you prove you can handle both but for now I need you to go to bed.”

Dick shook his head at that, “I need to know about what you learned as well if I’m going to help.”

Batman shook his head and then took off the cowl. “No, you can read about it in the morning.”

Dick tried staying still and staring right back at Bruce but when none of them budged Alfred got tired of it. “Okay boys if you don’t want to find a compromise I will.” he declared which got both of their attentions. “Dick, you can listen to what information he has but tomorrow you will be going to bed early for school.”

”Agreed.” nodded Bruce.

Dick wasn’t too happy about it at least he was going to be included for tonight. “Fine…”

Bruce turned around to the computer and pulled up the security footage from the room that they were in. He got up close to Joker’s face after his first question and pointed to the pupils. “After I asked why he was fixated on me, his pupils grew and that happens when it’s dark or when they’re excited about something. In his case I came up with that he loves being a criminal and having the attention which explains why at times when he would walk into a place. He would pause, take in how everyone began to freak out and then start his attack. The next question, what made him change is very important.” he explained as he began to slow down the frames until he came across the micro expression.

”Sadness?” asked Dick leaning in closer to look at the image.

”That’s correct.” he said glad that Dick could come up with it so quickly. “Whatever changed him or broke his mind, it brings up sadness.”

”Well these two developments sure change things don’t they?” asked Alfred wondering if he was truly fixated on Batman because he loved doing it and how something his past still saddened him.

Bruce nodded as he turned around to get changed back into some regular clothes. “The next time we meet I will find out more about him.” he promised the two of them. Even though the micro expression of sadness should be what he solely pays attention to he can’t because he needed to find out what he’s in love with; the chase, chaos, or Batman. _”We need each other!”_ Bruce shivered a little at the thought of that and looked at his outfit after getting it back into its case. _Is Joker in love with Batman somehow? At least I know he_ is _a man._


	18. Questions

Dick and Alfred went to bed long before Bruce did because he spent the rest of the night thinking about everything that he had gathered and saved the photos and video from the security footage. Obsessed probably wasn’t a strong enough word for Batman’s infatuation with the Joker’s motive and past but it was a good start. When Bruce heard the cops changing shifts he knew he had stayed up too late because he had a business meeting in three hours and he needed to stay awake. He got up from his chair and stretched as he headed upstairs to try and get some sleep. All he could hope for was that after he took this nap he would feel better instead of worse for trying to sleep.

Joker stayed up longer than his men perfecting his plan and by the time Bruce was heading to bed, he was having another nightmare. It couldn’t be helped since Batman bothered him with those ridiculous questions.

_”Don’t worry, I’m going to get us out of this apartment, have a home and a yard for our child to play in.” smiled the man as he set his hands on his wife’s stomach._

_”I know you will honey.” she smiled back and set her hands on his cheeks before leaning in to kiss him._

_The next memory was in the afternoon and at a bar. There was the same man who brought a couple drinks to a table where there were two other men. “So…you two are interested?” he asked._

_”Yes, you have inside information and it will really help us out. We’ll get a big score and you will get your cut.” promised one of them as he took a glass and drank._

_”Well…my information may not be up to date seeing as it’s been a year maybe two now that I’ve worked at Ace chemicals.” he stated scratching his head a little._

_”Don’t worry, everything will go well as long as you distract the security.” assured the third man as he brought up a box and looked around to make sure no one was looking before he opened it. Inside of the box was a red hood and cape. Obviously no one could see into the hood to know it was him but his main concern shifted on how he would be able see._

_The first man bit his lip a little looking it over slowly before reaching out for it. The box was pulled away and he furrowed his eyebrows. “How will I see?” he asked._

_”There’s mirrors inside so it reflects outside of the hood and it even acts as a gas mask.” explained the second one. “It will come in handy no matter what happens.”_

_”And there’s no way anyone will know it’s me?” he asked one more time._

_”Don’t worry so much! We’ll take care of you as long as you take care of us.” smiled the third man._

The memory began to fade just in time for him to wake up and glare at the wall. _Thanks a lot Batsy._ Joker was silently cursing him because he hated the memories but since they were also dreams, he forgot them quickly, especially when he was planning for another attack on Gotham.

Bruce managed to make it through his meeting only nodding off a few times. He was still tired when he was shaking hands with everyone and doing his best not to yawn in their faces. The billionaire really didn’t want to admit that he needed help with work but he was finding it harder and harder to pay attention to these meetings and they were important. When he got to his office he pulled up the file that he kept close by and looked it over again. Having someone to run his business and run it well would really help out. He’d still have to be here to sign papers and he would want to be included in all new projects to make sure his company was doing good and not bad business. It was about time to bring in Lucius Fox.

Lucius was in between jobs since he hardly ever stuck with one after he helped get the business up and going. A lot of people approached him all the time but he never expected Bruce Wayne to contact him. After the phone call was done he looked up Wayne Enterprises and saw how he was still doing good with money and wondered why he would even contact him. He had enough curiosity to take up the offer and began to pack so he could fly to Gotham and meet Bruce himself.

Alfred picked up Lucius at the airport and while Bruce was going over everything he looked over at the police radio. He eventually walked over and turned it up so he could see if anything was going on. Silence came out of the speaker and Bruce smiled a little glad to know that things were going well so far. Maybe he would be able to talk with Lucius before he had to be Batman.

”So…Alfred isn’t it?” asked Lucius choosing to sit in the passenger seat instead of the back.

”Yes?” inquired Alfred glancing over at him quickly.

”Why would Bruce Wayne want to talk to me when his business is running well? I’m usually the person people call when they’re a few days from closing.” he stated as they began to get into the city and he looked around. A lot of the architecture reminded him of gothic works and most of the buildings were still very old. He found it nice that the city was trying to keep the older buildings and he could tell something was wrong because a lot people gave him the vibe that they were on edge. Gotham wasn’t known by Wayne Enterprises, everyone knew of the crime rate and he also knew there was a new terror that appeared in news all over the world, Joker.

Alfred wasn’t sure of what to say to Lucius and wondered if he would take his words as part of his motive to stay or leave after talking with Bruce. “Master Wayne has a lot of troubles keeping everything up and running the way he wishes. He needs an extra set of eyes in the forms and the meetings so that his business could never be involved in anything bad.”

Lucius nodded slowly at that. “So he wants to keep his business from being corrupt. He does know I don’t stay in one job for too long right?”

”Oh, he knows.” smiled Alfred when he was stopped at a red light.

”And that doesn’t bother him?” asked Lucius with a raise of his eyebrows.

Alfred shook his head looking forward to focus on the traffic again. “He’s perfectly okay with the chance of you leaving after a while but he does have a feeling that you will stay.”

Lucius smiled a little bit glad to see that Bruce had confidence with him and looked back out the window. The last thing he expected was to see a lot of people that were armed forcing their ways into vehicles. He had no idea what was going on and quickly looked back at Alfred. “Alf-“ he started to speak up before the back door to the limousine was opened.

Both men looked in the backseat and their hearts simultaneously dropped when they were met with a white, red lipped smiling face. “Hello boys!” greeted Joker as he lifted up a pistol that had a large barrel. “Just drive for now and I’ll tell you when I want you to turn.” he instructed. The light turned green and Alfred who was used to the city by now turned around and began to drive.

Lucius looked over at Alfred and wasn’t sure if he should try for his phone or not. He probably shouldn’t and even though there was news of this man outside of Gotham he still didn’t know how to act with him this close by. Treating him like a normal criminal might be a good start and decided not to try reaching for his phone.

The gun was soon pulled away and Joker leaned over the seat looking at the two of them. “You two are a lot smarter than most people.” he said watching them and only Lucius tensed up. Alfred was more calm as he continued driving straight. “Not very talkative either.” stated Joker bouncing the gun on his knee.

”What are we supposed to talk about?” asked Lucius out of nowhere and it even surprised him. He didn’t want to get Joker talking but it could help them out since he mentioned the silence.

Joker smiled widely as he leaned back in the seat. “The frightened ones still surprise me!” he stated excitedly. “How about where we were going without someone in the back? It’s a limousine!”

Lucius glanced over at Alfred who was focused on the road without much emotion on his face. _How is he so calm about this? Has he ran into this guy before?_ “I was supposed to be in the back but I found it uncomfortable.” he explained since Alfred couldn’t send him any pointers while driving.

”Turn right.” ordered Joker and Alfred hesitated because they weren’t in the right lane. Joker rolled his eyes and reached forward to jerk his wheel to the right. They cut off a vehicle and thankfully the vehicle barely avoided hitting them. Joker smiled widely as Alfred shot him a glare and pat his shoulder. “Listen to me next time or I shoot.” he stated moving to place the gun against his head. “Oh and I do appreciate you answering my question.” he smiled back at Lucius.

The business man slowly nodded feeling his muscles tense up more with each second Joker stayed in the vehicle. “So…uh do you have any other questions?” he barely asked.

Joker nodded at that and kept the gun to Alfred’s head. “Yes, I do have one big question.” he smiled widely before leaning in close to Lucius. “Who were you going to visit?”

Alfred couldn’t even move his head to try and tell Lucius not to speak up and answer that question. The last thing he needed was for Joker to invade Bruce’s privacy a second time. If he continued to do it there could be a chance that he would slip up and give away who he truly was. As Lucius hesitated to answer the question Alfred’s phone began to ring. He glanced over at Joker who was looking down at the ringing phone. “I should answer that.” he spoke up.

”I should answer that shouldn’t I?” asked Joker repeating his words and grabbed the phone. Joker didn’t speak up right away when he answered it and after a few seconds Bruce hesitantly spoke.

”Alfred?” he asked not hearing a whole lot going on around him and didn’t even hear Lucius.

”I’m sorry, this isn’t Alfred but I would love to know who this is.” smirked Joker and he did recognize the voice but it was hard to pinpoint it at the moment.

Bruce froze right after he heard the first two words. It was Joker again and he was afraid that this might be sign that Joker was catching up to him. “I’m Bruce Wayne.” he answered knowing that if he was near Alfred and he was in danger, he needed to keep Joker talking.

Joker’s eyes widened a little and looked at Alfred. “Pull the car over.” he demanded before turning his attention back to the phone. “The same Brucie that helped me with some money?” he asked with a wide smile.

Bruce shivered at the nickname Joker gave him and began to pace. “Yes.” he answered growling a little.

The clown laughed at the reaction he was given and leaned back in the limousine. “No reason to growl! I don’t want any more money and thankfully you’re the owner of this limousine.” he stated getting out of the vehicle. “You are the only lucky one today.” Joker then dropped the phone to the ground before stomping on it. “Bye bye you two!” he waved before running off to find a car to hijack back to his hideout.

The vigilante’s blood boiled when he heard the call disconnect and quickly tried calling Lucius’ phone. Lucius and Alfred were both stunned at how Joker just left them alone that he almost missed the call. He quickly swiped the screen, “Hello?” he asked.

”Are you two okay?” asked Bruce needing confirmation that he just didn’t lose Alfred.

”Surprisingly, yes.” answered Lucius as he leaned back in the seat. “He just left.”

Bruce blinked a few times and headed toward the living room. “He just left?” he asked.

”Yeah but…before he got into the vehicle I noticed others doing the same thing. They were forcing their ways into the backseat of vehicles.” he stated and Alfred looked over at him wondering how he had missed that. “There were a lot of them and they were all armed. What’s going on?”

Bruce didn’t want to know what the madman had up his sleeve but since it was his job to do so he turned on the television. Instantly he was bombarded with news about phone calls with Joker’s men hitching rides and now there were reports of people being shot at their work, home, or stores. “I don’t know but if you two can head back here, I’d advise to do so immediately.” he stated not wanting them to be in danger again.

Lucius nodded at that and hung up the phone before looking at Alfred. “I think we’re safe to go now.”

Alfred had a million things running through his mind just as Bruce did and he only nodded at Lucius before focusing on getting them home as fast possible. “Well, it wouldn’t be a Gotham welcome if there wasn’t a criminal running amok would it?” he asked Lucius trying to make light of the events.

The words and images from the television soon just blurred in Bruce’s eyes as he continued to stare and think. He needed to know what Joker had said to the two of them but he also had to wait for that information. And why would the fact that Alfred was heading to Bruce’s mansion change Joker’s idea of harming them? It was obvious the plan was to kill as many people as possible in a strange new way but not Alfred or Lucius…all because of him. _There’s no way that he knows I’m Batman. The closest thing he’s got is how I growled at him on the phone._ His mind suddenly came to a halt as he remembered that Dick was coming home on a bus as well. Did one of his men try taking a bus?! Bruce quickly called up Dick to make sure that everything was okay with him.

Dick was in the middle of flirting and trying to get a girl’s attention when his phone rang. He ignored it since he just got a smile out of her. When it stopped and then rang a second time he decided to look at his phone. “Bruce?” he asked after answering the call.

”Dick? Is everything okay? Did anybody strange get on the bus?” he asked quickly.

”No, everything is fine, I’m almost home.” he stated. “What happened?” he asked in a lower voice as he turned to face the window.

Bruce sighed in relief and wondered if he should even tell him. It was his first day at school, something could have happened to him or he could have had a bad day. “Nothing is wrong, how was school?” he asked.

Dick rolled his eyes and had a feeling that he would have to wait until he was home to get an answer. “It went great.”

”Good…good.” he smiled a little but other than that, he didn’t know what to say.

The silence only continued for a minute before Dick spoke up again. “Hey, I’m almost home and we can talk more then, okay?” he suggested.

”Yeah, I’ll see you soon.” agreed Bruce before they both hung up. Bruce felt a lot better knowing both of them were safe and sat down again so he could wait for everyone to get home. After about a minute passed he began to think about Joker again. Joker really didn’t make a lot of sense and it could be what he wanted to happen. His actions change constantly and his plan never stays the same. He was obviously going to kill Alfred and Lucius. However, when he called and Joker found out who it was he let them go? Was it because he gave him money? There was no way that was the answer. Does he know who he truly is? There was no evidence of that either. Is there really no way of understanding Joker? Is he truly that insane? As of right now it was looking that was the answer. There might not be a way to help him because of how far he’s gone. Bruce shook his head at that thought and looked over at the window. _For some reason, I don’t want to believe that. There has to be a way to help him._


	19. Rampage Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a pretty good chance there will be a jump cut because they do take forever to realize it and if I do it now, the story will continue after Arkham Asylum with a different ending of course.

Harley was spending more time with Joker than at work and her excuse was because her patient wasn’t in the asylum. They took it as a legitimate reason and only called when a doctor needed some time off. She wasn’t sure of how much longer she could keep up the rouse of not working with Joker because she liked spending time with him. He was always distracted with his plans and Batman but she loved spending time with him anyway. While she was staying with him she did notice that something had begun to bother him. She wasn’t sure of what it was because she was still his “doctor” and the last thing she wanted was Joker to think that she was trying to help him. Harley loved him for exactly who he was and didn’t want it to change.

Joker was glad to see that all of his men made it back and instead of waiting awhile he was going to attack Gotham tonight as well. He wanted to see how angry Batman was with what happened today and the best way to get a reaction was to get him to come out the same night. He definitely wasn’t ignoring Harley and kept looking over at her wondering what was wrong. She looked like she wasn’t here and probably overthinking something again. “Harley?” he asked. Harley didn’t answer him and continued to stare at the wall. “Harley?” he asked louder as he narrowed his eyes, still nothing. “HARLEY!” he shouted.

Harley jumped out of her chair at how loud he had yelled and blinked several times. “J…Mistah J? Is something wrong?” she asked and took a step back because he definitely didn’t look happy. Joker’s expression didn’t change at all and she soon smiled a little. “Don’t worry! If you get caught I’ll be in Arkham with you.” she assured him not sure why he was staring at her.

”Stop thinking about that. If I had it my way I would never go back.” he stated turning back to continue tinkering with making his own gadgets. “I want to know what you’re thinking about.”

”I wasn’t thinking.” she lied with a small laugh.

”Absolutely nothing?” he asked turning back around to face her. She nodded quickly and smiled wider trying not to come off as nervous. Joker knew Harley was infatuated with him and he definitely used it to his advantage. He would never say anything to her about it because she probably thought he loved her as well. Sadly, there was no way he could return her affection. Joker had someone else he liked to be with…be with wasn’t the right way to describe it. His infatuation belonged to Batman and that was something else he wouldn’t admit out loud. He loved how they fought with words or their fists. He also loved how neither of them knew about the other and that as much as he didn’t believe in fate before they met, he believed in it now. There was no one else he wanted to fight, no one else he wanted to mess with and no one else he wanted to break. Right now though, he had a harlequin that won’t speak up about what she’s really thinking about and the only way to get her to talk is…”It’s okay darling, you can tell me.” he assured her kissing her cheek quickly.

Harley’s face flushed a little but she still smiled nervously. “Well…I was wondering what was bothering you.” she started. “You’ve had nightmares ever since the last encounter with Batman and you always look like you’re thinking about something else.” she watched his face closely waiting for him to get upset about her trying to pry.

Joker actually didn’t get angry at her and instead looked back at his papers. “As much as I trust you I won’t talk about anything past my first crime.” he explained.

Harley was really glad that he told the truth to her and moved a little closer to his desk. She reached out and set her hand on his arm. “I’ll wait for you to tell me anything you want and even if you never do, I’ll still be happy.” she smiled at him.

Joker smiled back at her and pat her a hand a couple times before he pulled away from her. “I believe we’re ready.”

***

The meeting with Lucius went as well as he planned it too. He did give him a few hours of rest after his experience with Joker and when they were all done, he gave him the information of a hotel he would be staying in. Bruce knew that later on Lucius would decide to stay so during the time he got used to the business, he would be finding Lucius a place to stay. After Lucius left Alfred and Dick sat with him in the living room so he could find out what happened and Dick could as well. Alfred retold the whole experience in as great detail as he could and only left Bruce with more questions. _Why can’t there ever be an answer?_ Bruce sighed a little as he leaned back in his chair. “Does any of this make sense to you Dick?” he asked.

Dick shook his head at that, “No it doesn’t and is this usually how it is with Joker?” he asked.

”Yes, more questions than answers.” he answered. “Alfred, can you make dinner early tonight? I want to be prepared to leave as soon as night falls.” he stated.

Alfred nodded as he stood up, “I will get on that sir.”

As Alfred was leaving Bruce got up to go to his room but Dick quickly got in his way. “I want to come with.” he declared.

”No, you’re not old enough.”

”I am too!”

”You’re not trained.”

Dick growled a little and crossed his arms. “I can train by being out there with you.”

”No and that’s it.” stated Bruce before moving around Dick to leave him alone in the living room.

***

As night began to fall, Joker had finished putting together the last part of his plan. His men were downstairs getting into position and there was only way for Batman to find them. He smiled widely as he plugged in the lights and on top of the museum roof read “Joker’s Here!”. It was a bright neon green and he knew it would get Batman’s attention like it did last time. He giggled the whole way back in to the building so he could get ready to fight him.

The last thing Batman expected was the same trick again from Joker. He knew that it meant Joker had a plan and that he would do anything not to get taken back to Arkham. Batman needed to be a step ahead of him in order to win so this time he would make sure he gets all of his men, including Nick. Nick was top priority because he had a nasty habit of sneaking around and actually getting the better of him. “Alfred, let Gordon know that Joker is in the museum in about twenty minutes.” he instructed.

”You can count on me sir.” he assured him.

”Thank you.” he said before he grappled over to the building and went in by the roof.

Inside of the building the men had finally gotten to their positions and began patrolling their areas. Joker had gone through and made a lot of changes to the museum. He killed some of the aquarium animals, painted on a lot of mannequins, and killed a couple of night guards that were they when he came to take over. His usual destruction when he wanted to have a tussle with his favorite bat.

Batman began to take out the guards one by one when he found them in each area. He wasn’t bothering with Joker at all until he knew for sure that all of them were down, including Nick. What surprised him this time around was instead of hiding around Joker, Nick was waiting for him to take out the last guy in the fossil wing. He quickly stepped around the corner and opened fired on Batman. Batman was a little slow to move since he had just finished knocking out a thug and by the time he disappeared from Nick’s sight, a bullet landed in between his armor plates. He hissed a little at the pain and found somewhere to hide so he could open up a compartment in his utility belt.

Bruce had been paying attention to new technology to help with bullet wounds because he had a feeling that eventually, a criminal would get lucky. This was one of those times and was glad he had gotten a hold of some of the XTAT Hemostasis System. The FDA just barely approved it to where he could obtain it and he was lucky for that. He took out the syringe and injected the sponges into the bullet hole. They began to expand and soak up the blood while plugging it up so that he could continue fighting. He wasn’t severely hurt but not worrying about bleeding the whole time would be wonderful.

After his wound stopped bleeding he went to hunt after Nick. He didn’t think he would have gotten far and if he was lucky, he would help lead him toward Joker. Nick definitely had not got far because he was looking for Batman to keep him busy and away from Joker. It was hard for anyone to get anything by him because his guard was always up and he had refined it more with Joker. However, today wasn’t his day because he was attacked from behind. He yelled out before turning around to shoot but the gun was knocked out of his hands and punched in the face. Nick tried to punch back but he wasn’t fast enough as his legs were kicked out from under him and Batman punched him one more time to knock him out.

Joker turned the corner waiting for Nick to go down before he threw a couple cards at Batman. The vigilante dodged them and faced Joker. “Hey Bats!” he smiled widely.

”This time, I’m bringing you back to Arkham.” he growled.

”Oh? You didn’t like my stunt earlier today? I thought it was unique too!” he said trying to look sad about it but his smile was so wide it ruined the image. This is how he liked Batman, angry and had a less chance of holding back. Batman quickly stepped forward and threw the first punch. Joker dodged it and a knife came out of his sleeve so he could swing at him. Batman jumped back before taking out his batclaw and firing it at Joker to disarm him. It worked as Joker dropped the knife and smiled wider. “I’m having fun!” he declared.

Batman shook his head and took a stance to wait for Joker to make the first move. “Only you would find this fun.”

Joker nodded at that, “That’s because I always see the funny side now! You will eventually.” He moved to punch at Batman and when he missed he quickly stepped to the side trying to kick at his knees. Batman blocked it by grabbing his leg and pulled him to make him fall. Joker fell to the ground and quickly rolled backwards to get back on his feet. “Come on Batman, you have to smile and let loose sometimes right?” he asked.

”You’ll never see that because as long as you’re out of Arkham, I’ll be hunting you down.” he answered for him.

”Sounds boring, no wonder you frown all the time.” Joker tried attacking again but after a few punches being blocked and connecting Batman soon took him by the collar. The madman smiled widely ready to be picked up but Batman didn’t just pick him up, he also slammed him into the wall. Joker felt the air rush out of his lungs and as he got a breath in he was turned around. Batman grabbed his hands quickly and got them cuffed so that he couldn’t keep fighting. This time he wanted him awake so he could ask some questions and get answers. “Ooooh, kinky Batsy~.” he teased and wasn’t depressed with being caught or put up much more of a fight.

Batman really didn’t like how he wasn’t fighting more like he expected and furrowed his eyebrows. “Why aren’t you fighting me?” he asked as he pulled him away from the wall to lead him outside.

Joker shrugged as he was pushed around and tried to look back at him. “Maybe because I’m bored or just wanted some time with you.” he smirked.

”You’ll get some time with me but I’m going to ask you a lot of questions before I take you to Arkham.”

”I’d rather not.” he stated remembering the questions he asked last time and didn’t need him prying. That wasn’t part of their game, that wasn’t the reason he wanted to be caught. He waited until they were outside and getting close to the Batmobile before he tried sending his head back to hit Batman.

Batman had his guard up since he was still angry at how close he was at losing Alfred and moved his head back before slamming Joker’s head onto the Batmobile. “You’re not getting free.”

Joker laughed a little as he slowly shook his head. “So, are we going to get the same reaction as last time?” he wondered out loud.

”No.” he growled as he pulled him away to open it up and put Joker in before buckling him up as tightly as he could. “We’re going to Arkham and I’m going to ask questions.”

Joker rolled his eyes as he watched Batman jump onto the vehicle and then over to the driver side. The Batmobile closed up and the vigilante began to drive. “Questions are boring, flesh meeting flesh, blood coming out of the nose from a good punch, breathing heavy, and a large smile carved onto the face is what’s best.” he smiled widely.

”The more you answer, the longer you can stay in here.” he stated looking over at him and having a feeling that he would take that over going to Arkham.

”You wouldn’t be the first one to lie to me.” Joker pointed out.

”I’m a man of my word.” promised Batman.

Joker looked him over slowly letting his eyes trail from his face down his body and back up. “Hard to believe when you’re wearing a mask.”

Batman looked over at him with a small frown on his face. “You are too.”

Joker burst out in laughter tilting his head back and squirming a little in the seat. “Oh! That is too funny! I’m not wearing a mask, I’m all naturãl.” he assured him and winked.

Batman was getting used to Joker’s antics by now and how he tried so hard to avoid talking about anything too personal. He wasn’t going to pry that much anyway and the first time he stopped answering his questions it would be straight to Arkham. “Why did you stop when you learned about Bruce Wayne?” he asked ignoring his comment.

”You really do get nosy into my business don’t you?” he asked wondering how he found out that he ended up in one of Bruce Wayne’s vehicles. “Is he a buddy for you? The person who gives you money for your nightly adventures?”

”If you don’t answer I will head straight to Arkham.” he reminded him.

”Because he helped me before.” he answered rolling his eyes. “I don’t think you’re a police officer~.”

Batman shook his head a little and wanted to know the real reason but at least he got a consistent answer out of him. “What happened?” he asked.

”What happened? When I sent out my men to kill about a hundred civilians? When I escaped Arkham?” he asked with a wide smile.

”What happened to you?” he asked looking over at him.

Joker’s face didn’t stop smiling but at how he froze up and looked away, Batman knew he was thinking about what did happen.

_The memories came back, fast and quick only showing little things. Jeannie, smiling and happy about being with him. Getting the plans done with the two crooks. Meeting up one more time before the heist. Cops coming in and telling him his wife has died. Him being forced to still participate. Donning the Red Hood, running away, Batman, and jumping._

Joker’s eyes were closed as they continued to circle around in his mind and he soon opened them back up to look at Batman. “You.” he answered. “Fate happened!” he declared and starting laughing loudly.

Batman had no idea what had just happened but by how loud and long he was laughing, he believed he lost his chance at getting to know more. He was close to Arkham at that time and pulled up. He got out to drag Joker who was still laughing and got him inside for the nurse to see. “Here.” he said before letting go and turning to leave.

”You didn’t keep up your end!” he said still giggling a little. “You should be proud to finally get a straight answer out of me!” he stated and as Batman looked back at him a couple more nurses and a doctor were there to take him away.

 _Did I really get a straight answer out of you?_ If he did get a straight answer then maybe being Batman wasn’t all about doing good like he had thought? It was probably another one of Joker’s tricks but he felt like Joker was telling the truth. What would it change if he was telling the truth?


	20. Saved His Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I hope this chapter does justice on the very big time skip I did. Currently Barbara is Oracle and in a wheelchair while Jason is the Robin. Dick is now Nightwing and Harley is now known as Harley Quinn. I really hope this chapter isn't confusing and flows well. A new year, a new chapter in both Bruce and Joker's life.

Bruce had lost track of time since his first few years with Joker, was it ten now? He wasn’t sure anymore but while he had gotten to know Joker more, Dick began to train, Batgirl was added to the heroic family, Oracle came after Batgirl, Dick left to take care of Bludhaven, Bruce continued with his obsession of Joker’s past and Joker continued to be a complete nuisance to Bruce’s life. Thankfully, none of his recent plans haven’t affected Bruce Wayne and he was constantly checking in and making sure Joker was still sealed away. It was also found out a couple months ago of how Harley Quinn was working with Joker. She helped him escape and made her own costume as well. The two went on a spree and Harley was caught first. Things were a lot more complicated than he ever would have imagined knowing that there was someone who could fall in love with Joker. He should have noticed her infatuation with him before but now everyone knew about it. Things had changed a lot including the inside of Arkham.

Joker definitely liked the new look of Arkham and how many cameras there were. He always smiled at it and every time Quincy Sharp would come by he would try to get the man to laugh. Quincy never seemed to smile anymore and he always curious on how he was doing. Joker would never give a straight answer though and even his doctor was getting fed up with him. Penelope didn’t know everything about him but he knew everything about her. That is how it started, his reign with Titan.

It was a long night and it seemed like it would never end. Bruce talked with Oracle more than he did Alfred only because Alfred was helping Jason with the bomb situations. They were trying to gain an upper hand with Joker running free in Arkham Asylum. He never thought it would end up with two of them in a room fighting giant Titan monsters.

Joker tried shooting at Gordon and Batman jumped in front of it to stop it from happening. Of course that is what he wanted and Joker quickly stepped close to him. “Oooooh! Look at this! We’re going to have a lot of fun soon!” he smiled widely. Batman began to fight the change by punchin the ground and closing his eyes to concentrate. Joker frowned at that hating how he was still able to hold back. He kicked at him and made Batman roll away from him. “Stop fighting it!” he yelled at him. He watched as Batman continued fight the change and stood up straight.

Batman took out the antidote and injected it into his arm. He breathed in heavily as he felt it coursing through his body and the change began to stop. “You used the antidote on yourself?!” exclaimed Joker before laughing loudly and leaning back a little at how funny he found it. “I guess you don’t like a fair fight then.” he smiled before he put the Titan gun to his neck.

The vigilante moved quickly taking out a batarang and throwing it at the gun. It successfully knocked it out of Joker’s hand before he could inject it into himself. “Fight me as yourself.” he stated. Joker was upset that the gun was knocked out of his hand but missing the opportunity to fight him? He would never do that and smiled widely as he moved to attack Batman.

Just like any other battle between them, Batman ended up winning. The last thing they expected on the news was about the people who were injected by the gun. Bruce was the first to get the news and was glad he had given himself the antidote however, in turn he had saved Joker’s life. He did go to the hospital to look at the charts and he wasn’t even sure if the antidote he had would work anymore. Bruce had saved himself with taking the antidote and saved Joker by keeping him from injecting himself. He didn’t know it at the time but as he thought back on it, he reacted quickly, he didn’t want Joker injecting himself, and he…he wanted him to stay normal. Normal wasn’t the right way to describe Joker and yet he stopped him without thinking about it.

Joker didn’t find out until the day after and they only gave a little information about the Titan infected. He read through it all, enjoying the highlights about himself and how he upset the established order again but when it came to the inmates he infected his happy mood diminished. He definitely wasn’t dumb or cared if a few of them died but he did see that if he had injected himself, he could have been sick just like them. _Oh Batsy you always have to save everyone don’t you?_ Joker smiled before laughing loudly and tilting back in his chair. He then moved over to the bars to stick the newspaper out for the camera and pressed his face to them. “Hey Bats! I know you watch this feed! Thank you for doing your job as always!” he cackled as he pulled back into his cell.

The laughter from his cell didn’t stop for a long time but when it finally subsided he leaned back looking at the ceiling. He didn’t understand why he was genuinely happy for Batman saving him. Joker wouldn’t be sick and he definitely wouldn’t die because of his obsession of fighting with Batman. Joker frowned and got up from the chair and began to pace. He didn’t like this new side of Batman, saving his life when he really needed it and he didn’t like what he was thinking. There can be no one like her again, there is no one to care and there is no one for him to care about anymore. It is all a coincidence; it has to be. Batman didn’t know that he would be saving his life even though the only way to stop him was to knock the gun out of his hand. There is nothing different, nothing has changed, none of it means anything. “Nothing will ever change between us.” he repeated out loud just to help confirm it even though it didn’t seem to help.

***

It took about a month before the Asylum could get fully back together and get the patients into therapy sessions. Mostly the building had to be repaired so that no one would escape right away. While it was being worked on they had to borrow the GCPD lockup and a lot of the officers couldn’t wait for Joker to be gone but after he read the newspaper about the Titan infected, he had changed. The cops didn’t want to try to put a name to it and even Gordon wanted to avoid him as much as he could. No one wanted to bug Joker while he was acting weird and when the nurses and guards came to get him, they were shocked. They tried to get information out of the cops and who spent the most time guarding Joker but they didn’t have anything to report.

Arkham staff was unsettled as they transported Joker who barely looked or smiled as he sat in the van handcuffed. Joker continued looking across from him and no matter who walked in front of him, he didn’t react. They got him into his cell at Arkham without any kind of fight and he went over to sit on the bed before staring at the wall again.

”What do you think happened while he was at GCPD?” asked one of the nurses.

The other nurse shrugged her shoulders as they walked away. “It must have been something they did or Batman really did a number on him.”

”I don’t know it’s just weird…I know if he does get better he still wouldn’t be normal but I guess I’ve gotten used to him being the way he always is.” she said softly looking back at the cell before they turned the corner.

”I’d have to agree.”

Joker was still quiet when he was pulled into his first therapy session with the new doctor. The new doctor was expecting a lively and refusing patient, not a silent one. He did his best to get Joker to talk but no matter what he said didn’t bring any reaction out of him. Batman kept a close eye on Arkham ever since they got the camera feed back up and found it strange as well. He didn’t do anything different with turning Joker in and he was pretty sure the cops didn’t do anything to cause him to act differently. No matter what happened in Joker’s life his attitude would never change, up until now. That’s when he decided he would go talk with Joker and make sure no one saw him there.

When night fell he drove to the Asylum and got inside through the vents. He felt a little bad for breaking them again because they just got them fixed but he needed to see what was wrong with Joker. Batman really had no idea why he cared so much and why he felt okay with how he saved Joker’s life. He just cared and that’s how he ended up turning off the cameras down the hall where Joker’s cell was and appearing in front of it. “Joker.” he announced himself.

Joker finally reacted to someone and looked over at Batman. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

Batman furrowed his eyebrows at how there wasn’t a quip or a bad joke included in the greeting. “I came to find out what wa-“ he started to say but Joker quickly got up to slam his hands on the bars.

”Stop it.” he glared darkly at him.

Even the vigilante was thrown off at how Joker reacted and blinked a few times. “Alright so you’re angry with me.”

Joker rolled his eyes as he turned back around. “I don’t understand you. You started acting like my therapists, wanting to get to know me better, wanting to find out why I am the way I am and now you’re starting to care. I wish things were back to when we first met each other. Hardly any words were spoken because you were too angry, you punched me, I punched back, I escaped, blew something up and we fought ending up with my inevitable capture. I want to go back to that! Stop protecting me and caring about me!” he snapped at him.

Batman shook his head a little at that ready to deny his last statement. “I want to get you help not protect or care about you.” he explained and he admitted to himself that he lied. He lied because he didn’t want to admit it out loud to anyone, especially Joker, that he had begun to care about the clown.

Joker laughed a little at that and shook his head as he turned back around to face him. “You honestly think that I can’t tell when you’re lying?!” he asked laughing louder. It felt good to laugh again after being stuck in a rut with his memories and thoughts. “We’ve both changed Batsy. You stopped me from doing something stupid and in turn saved my life. I wanted to kill you but now I don’t want to kill you. Apparently we’re both doing better because of each other so let’s get back to what we do best, beating each other up and not caring. It’s the only way I’ve shown progress.”

”The moment we met I knew everything had changed. We both agree on that and there is no going back, there has never been any going back.” he stated watching Joker closely as his smile disappeared from his face again.

”I will not let anyone in like her again, even you Batman.” he stated before going over to his bed to lie down on it.

Batman’s eyes widened at what little Joker let out and when Joker made no move to look at him again he left the other man alone. He turned the camera feed back on and then headed back home so he could think about ways to find out who Joker was talking about. It was taking too long for him to find out information so it would be best to find it out sooner rather than later.

***

Bruce made it home early the next morning because crime didn’t rest even while Joker was put away. He knew he needed to go to work but that was part of the reason he wanted Lucius. There was someone there that he knew would be doing the best for his company so he could stay home and continue with his Joker obsession. He went back around the time that Joker surfaced as a criminal and began to look for female deaths. Of course with Gotham City there were a lot of deaths and he went as far back as a year before Joker showed up. He ran a hand through his hair as he stared at the list. _There are way too many names here…how am I supposed to find just one?_

Alfred came downstairs with breakfast after he made sure Jason was fed and off to school. “Master Bruce, what are you looking up today?” he asked.

”I’m trying to figure out who Joker was talking about. He mentioned a woman last night when I went to go visit him.” he answered as he moved to grab his breakfast and begin to eat. “Thank you Alfred.”

”You’re welcome.” he smiled a little before looking at the list of names. “You really do want to help Joker don’t you?”

Bruce paused in eating to look at the list of names and then back at Alfred. “The more I learn about him the more I being to understand why he was so fixated on making Gordon experience a bad day. He probably went through the same thing I did but it turned out differently for him.” he explained.

Alfred nodded slowly as he thought of something else. “If he truly did lose someone close to him, you don’t want to focus on the one who died but on the family member that went missing.” he pointed out.

”I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” stated Bruce as he ran a hand down his face and then began at the top of the list so he could look at the family members.

”Maybe it’s because you’ve been awake all night and now fighting sleep?” he asked. Bruce shook his head and Alfred sighed a little. “Get some rest sir and then come back to this.”

No matter how much Bruce and Alfred looked, they couldn’t find anyone that even came close to Joker or someone who met the criteria. They even came across Jeannie and Jack but they didn’t know that Jack was really Joker. When they read up on their information, they found out that Jeannie had died and after that, Jack had taken all of his money out of his accounts, quit his job and left to live somewhere else. What family they could contact told him he was living on the road and that it was pretty much impossible to find him. They tried asking Bruce if everything was okay but he assured them he wasn’t in trouble, he was just going over some old files of the company and the product that killed Jack’s wife. For the most part Jack didn’t seem like the correct candidate and after Alfred had gone to bed for the day, Bruce tried to match the facial structure.

Bruce didn’t expect the facial structure to come back ninety-five percent similar. His eyes slowly widened as he looked at both pictures and then tried to look at Jack’s history. Jack worked at Ace Chemicals for many years and then there were some news clippings about him being a standup comedian not too long after leaving Ace. What little reviews there were of him, none of them were nice and then he began to look into where he lived.

That’s how he ended up at an older apartment building and he wasn’t sure if the landlady would remember one tenant in particular but luck continued to be on his side. Mrs. Burkiss remembered the couple very well and it was mostly thanks to the fact that she was the one who heard Jeannie and later found her dead. “That lazy no good husband of hers never did come back. I had to move their things out of the place. It wasn’t easy for someone like me!” she complained to Bruce but it wasn’t Bruce, he was currently disguised as a reporter.

”He never came back?” he asked.

”No, I tried telling Jeannie that she should have left him but she was in love and for some reason loved his jokes just as much as him. They were always in bad taste and dry.”

”Did anyone ever come back to the apartment?” he probed hoping that there would be something and he wasn’t doing this all out on a whim. Bruce liked to be a hundred percent sure, not just ninety-five.

Mrs. Burkiss paused in her ramblings as she remembered something else. “Well I guess there was somebody…I found it weird since I had never seen him before. The bloke had a purple suit and no matter how much I try I don’t remember his face. He wanted to help me clear out the apartment but I didn’t want him coming inside. Even then I felt like he was…like he was unfamiliar and someone I didn’t want to be around for long. He laughed at me, walked away and never came back.”

”He was unfamiliar?” asked Bruce because if he had it right then he should have felt familiar to her. Unless his wife’s death really affected him that much to where he would be different to someone that knew him well.

”Yeah, I don’t believe I met him before.”

”Thank you Mrs. Burkiss.” he stated as he bowed his head a little and left her alone so he could go back home. _Could I have found Joker’s identity?_


	21. Not As Hoped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have excuses as always when I'm late. A lot of things have happened, my mom's birthday, getting back into Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi, being told that I'm getting less hours at work just because someone didn't like me getting more than them, and I believe I'm getting sick. I really hope I'm not getting sick. At least I finally got this done and this time I make no promises for how close these two are to kissing or having sex but as always, I feel like it's close so keep hanging on! I hope I will.

Bruce wasn’t sure how he was supposed to bring up this new development to anyone. He was pretty sure he had found the man he was looking for but at the same time, it still wasn’t a hundred percent. The worse part about it was he didn’t know how to bring it up to Joker. He also had to think about a way he could get him alone without anyone hearing their conversation because if he was wrong, he didn’t want them prying into someone else’s life for no reason. Bruce also didn’t want him being bothered even more than he probably was to speak up about his past. If what he found turns out to be right, it would be hard for him to talk about it, especially if he still harbors some love for the woman he lost. It was strange, really strange to know that Joker had a normal life, had a normal wife, and was expecting a child. He still didn’t know what happened to him after the cops found him and explained the situation but he had a feeling that whatever happened the night he heard about his wife’s death, was the night everything changed. Joker’s obsession with the bad day was starting to make more sense.

The billionaire decided to call ahead to see if he could set up a time and date to check out the asylum. It looked like they were still pretty busy and wanted him to wait until they got a few more things done with remodeling. Bruce didn’t want to make them feel more pressure than they already had for trying to get the place up and running. “I can wait a little longer, I won’t mind.” he assured them.

”Thank you so much Mister Wayne, we’ll be in touch with you as soon as we feel comfortable with letting the public back in.” the secretary assured her. “We’re still looking for a replacement to run the asylum anyway.” she reminded him.

”I can act in as a replacement until we get some resumes in.” he stated. “I basically own half of the asylum.”

The secretary wasn’t too sure about it but it would be nice if someone could finally make some orders and make sure everything got finished. “Are you sure it wouldn’t trouble you?” she asked. “You’re already a busy man.”

Bruce smiled at that and knew that she had no idea how interested he was with the asylum. “Don’t worry, I have some free time that I can pencil in.”

”Alright but just so you know, a lot of the paperwork I’m going to send you are things you want to fix, the order of how things will be fixed, and the budget to cover it all.” she explained.

”Don’t worry about the budget, I’m willing to help no matter the cost.”

***

Joker was allowed some time in the recreation room, what was left of it anyway because of his good behavior. Nobody was sure what would happen when they let him go and watched him go sit on the couch. The clown was tired of being down in the dumps and liked the change of scenery. He could still tell what damage his men did to the room and smiled a little as he sat on the couch. “How about replacing this couch? It doesn’t have any kind of comfort anymore.” he stated loudly and made the guards jump. That was the first time they’ve heard his voice since he got there.

The staff quickly began to rethink their decision on giving him some freedom but Joker never moved from his spot. Joker was glad they took him somewhere else and started to feel better. He just had way too many memories flashing through his head and every time it did, it happened differently. He hated not being able to remember everything because he loved Jeannie but at the same time he was happy. Joker closed his eyes and leaned back before he heard footsteps. “Joker?” asked his new doctor, Frank.

Joker opened his eyes and definitely wasn’t impressed to see the man holding a glass of water and pills. “Just because I’ve showed more emotion than a log, you’re going to give me medicine?” he asked.

”I haven’t been sure what to give you up until now.” he stated.

”Then what is it?”

Frank sighed a little and held the pills and water closer to him. “Depression pills.”

Joker’s eyes widened a little bit before he started to smile. It was a large smile by the time he started to laugh and leaned forward. He definitely missed laughing from the bottom of his gut and Frank waited patiently for him to stop. The laugher subsided after five minutes and he took a deep breath before he stood up. “You really think I’m depressed?”

”Just because you laughed for five minutes doesn’t change my mind.” he said motioning to the pills again.

Joker rolled his eyes and grabbed the pills before he threw them behind him. “Learn to read the charts, I don’t do well with medicine.” he smiled before he turned to leave.

”Where are you going?” asked one of the guards quickly moving to get in his way.

”Back to my cell.” he stated because he knew they wouldn’t let him stay there after he had just thrown the pills away. The guard was still suspicious but let him go by and just as Joker said, he went back to his cell, waited for the door to open and then sat down on the bed. “So, when do I get to start hanging out with the other inmates here?” he asked needing to talk to Harley and maybe after he tried something, he’d be able to move on.

Frank had followed them and stepped up so he could answer the question. “When you start taking your pills.”

Joker tilted his head looking like he was really debating on it. “Maybe I will then doc.” he smiled at him but he did have ways to go around it.

***

A couple months past and Joker was still in the Asylum but more like himself. He was having fun telling jokes and messing with everyone in the Asylum. Joker was able to see Harley a few times and did his best to keep up his appearance with her. He could feel himself drifting closer to liking her and it was mostly because he wanted to forget the other person in his life. Joker would try focusing on Batman but he wasn’t here to make it easier. Bruce finally got the chance to come look at the Asylum and they made sure only the better inmates were out and about when he came along.

Bruce followed them around like they wanted but when he walked by Joker’s cell he couldn’t help but think about what he had found out. He waited until they were farther away before speaking up, “I want to talk to Joker.”

”Joker?” asked the secretary really confused by that. “Wouldn’t you want to talk to other staff instead of a patient?”

”It’s better to know how things are for the patients to talk to one of them.” he pointed out to her.

The secretary nodded but she still felt like he shouldn’t. “I can have a guard sit in with you.”

Bruce shook his head, “I’d like to do it in private, no cameras, nobody watching or listening in.”

”You’re asking for a steep request here.” she frowned a little.

”I know, call it the bad habit I have when I know I own the place.” he smiled a little at her trying to make her feel at ease about what he was asking but also getting the point across that he would have his way.

It still took another hour for them to get a private room ready so that there was no way anyone knew what was going on and then went to get Joker. The clown was just as confused as the rest of them as to why Bruce wanted to talk to him and soon sat down at the table. He watched the rest of them leave and then surveyed the room. There was no camera, no window and no guard yet. When Bruce walked in Joker expected a guard to come in with him but the door closed back up with only the two of them there. “Brucie, you wanted to see me again?” he asked with a wide smile.

”I guess you could say that.” he stated sitting down and putting his hands on the table.

Joker waited for him to speak up again but soon got bored of waiting. “Did the big old scary Batman send you here again?” he asked.

Bruce raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. “I only come here of my own accord.”

”But you do agree with what the Batman is doing?” he asked.

”Yes.” he answered.

Joker smiled at that and leaned forward to watch Bruce. He drummed his fingers on the table not having a set rhythm with how he was doing it. “What do you want to ask me?” he asked.

Bruce figured he’d know that he was there for a reason but he knew that Joker had no idea what was in store for him. “I was wondering about your past actually…your face kind of reminds me of a comedian.” he mused wondering if that would get a reaction out of him.

The clown didn’t react at all to the question because he had a few people ask him that before. “No, I was never a comedian because my humor was too great to share until I saw the funny side of everything.”

The billionaire didn’t expect anything different from that answer and leaned back in his chair as he thought of the next question. “What about having a wife?”

Joker’s eyes narrowed at that and shook his head. “The only thing I have ever loved is the tension I have with Batman.”

”Jeannie.” he spoke up and finally, he got a reaction. If it wasn’t for Joker only thinking of her and trying to forget about his past, he probably wouldn’t have reacted. His face fell and sadness showed for a second before he smiled. “Do you remember her?”

”Did I kill her before? I don’t recall anyone with the name Jeannie.” he smiled wider.

Bruce could tell that he wasn’t happy and his smile was forced. He had seen Joker be happy over the weirdest things and his smile was usually because he was happy, not this time though. “Your wife who died by faulty wiring. Her and your child died, Ja-“ he continued to explain before Joker cut off his words by attacking him. Joker had lunged at him and pulled back a fist but at the same time Bruce had reached his hand up to grab his neck. He held back the smaller man and glared at him. It happened all too fast and he reacted before he could think about what he was doing.

Joker froze in his place and watched Bruce glare at him before his fist relaxed. He put his hand over the top half of his face and Bruce pushed him away before getting up from the chair. “Oh Brucie.” smiled Joker widely. “You agree with Batsy more than I could have imagined.” He moved back into his chair and began to giggle. “Who would have known?” he asked before his giggles turned into full out laughter.

The billionaire quickly left the room trying to convince himself that Joker didn’t know, there’s no way he could know. A guard was waiting outside and could tell that he was a little shaken. “Is everything alright?” he asked.

”It’s fine.” he assured him not wanting them to think that something bad had happened and quickly left the asylum without trying to ask anything else of them for now.

Alfred was waiting outside since he had a feeling that Bruce was going to be up to no good inside of the Asylum. He knew better than to just let him go here alone anymore and when Bruce came out he could definitely tell something had happened. “Sir, is everything alright?” he asked.

Bruce looked up at him and then shook his head. “I don’t know…I honestly don’t know.” he stated. Joker never did say that he was Batman out loud but he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t like Joker winning and when he attacked him he instinctively grabbed him by the neck.

”Do I get to know what happened?” asked Alfred as he got into the vehicle and Bruce in the passenger seat.

”He…I think Joker knows I’m Batman.” he stated after a few more moments of silence.

Alfred had no idea what to say when he spoke up and looked over at Bruce studying him slowly. He hardly ever joked around and he knew he wouldn’t joke about something as serious as this either. “You think he does?” he asked.

Bruce nodded, “He went to attack me and I retaliated before I could stop myself.”

”That seems like a far stretch though.”

”He’s Joker, Alfred. He has an obsession with Batman and he has fought me so much over the years I highly doubt he didn’t figure it out.” he explained as he looked out the window. “If he does figure it out, I’ll be out of the job and we will be in danger.”

”It isn’t anything new to us.” he reminded him.

Bruce smiled a little at that thankful for Alfred trying to help him feel better but he couldn’t let anyone in his family get hurt. If it becomes public that he’s Batman, he needed a way to keep everyone safe from what his enemies would do to them. He could only imagine what kind of revenge everyone would want on the people he loved. That’s why when he got to the manor, he went downstairs to start coming up with a plan called Knightfall.

Joker was escorted back to his cell after Bruce had left and they tried asking him what went on in the meeting but he couldn’t stop laughing. He only stopped when his sides began to hurt and he lied down on the bed looking up at the ceiling. “Who would have ever guessed!” he exclaimed. Even though they both knew each other’s other identity he had a feeling that something would change. It all rested on his hands and sure, he did want to show everyone who Batman was but what did he feel now? Would he really blab about this new information to everyone else in this Asylum? Go to the papers? News channels?! What would happen after that? Joker had a feeling that Batman or otherwise known as Bruce would stop being the man behind the mask. That stirred up anger in his stomach and now knew what he would do. He would take this information to his grave if he had too all because he didn’t want Bruce to stop being Batman. Joker needed Batman and he had a feeling that Bruce needed Batman as well.

Maybe things would change between them because they both knew secrets the other has tried to keep hidden. He wouldn’t stop making Batman’s life hell and he was sure Batman couldn’t do anything about him being Joker. They would both continue being what makes them happy and they would both continue to be in each other’s life. The whole situation was almost intimate and finally got him to stop thinking about Jeannie. Batman was the only thing that could keep the past away from him and that’s why he would do anything to make sure Batman stayed alive.


	22. New Relationships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally! This time it's not uploaded in three weeks, just a little shorter than that. I'd like to go back to uploading every other week and am trying to keep my workload to a minimum. I am planning on making a Joker video by the end of this month while doing school work, this story, and playing video games. Let's hope I don't push back this story! I really wish I remembered the name of the Tumblr who reached out to me but I don't. I really am glad to hear feedback and appreciate you even though I can't remember your name DX I'm sorry!
> 
> ALSO THIS IS AN EDIT. The Tumblr user that reached out to me is deepforeststoryteller. Watch me still get that wrong since I close the damn tab and answered the ask once again before posting this. Hopefully you don't hate by the end of this!

Joker would not have guessed that Bruce would be the reason he had all new energy to escape Arkham. It would be easy, even easier than before since they were so focused on remodeling. Which was only possible because of the man giving him the reason to leave. He was sure that Bruce wanted them to be fixed just like his Batman side wanted and would do anything to help them. The help he needed wasn’t possible in a place like this, there was no going back after a bad day. A prime example of that is Batman and he wanted to figure out what changed him.

The next time the nurse came to give him medicine he pretended to be asleep. He had his back turned to her as he slept on his side and stayed as still as possible while keeping his breath even. The nurse was fooled and got close to him before he quickly turned throwing the card at her cheek. She cried out pulling away and holding a hand to her face. “Oh dear, I’m sorry.” he apologized as he stood up with a wide smile. “I didn’t know it was you.”

”You’re not sorry.” she glared at him.

Joker quickly moved in front of her and set his hands on her head. “About time you know me, I will never be fixed.” He pushed her back and quickly ran out of his cell before he continued down the hall.

Harley was helping him and was keeping the main security guard under check. He was currently stuffed in a closet while she kept the guards busy. She kept setting off small alarms in areas far away from Joker and when he was finally close to an exit she smiled widely. “I’ll meet you soon darling.” she said blowing a kiss to the monitor and Joker knew Harley enough that he turned to the screen blowing a kiss back. Harley giggled a little before she ran out of the room to make her own way out.

Bruce was notified of Joker’s escape a few hours after he had left. He wasn’t angry with the staff but wished that he had a faster way of knowing. After the call all he had to do was wait. Joker didn’t last that long after their meeting before he escaped and he wished he could anticipate what would happen. Joker had to know, he had to know who he was and no matter what happened, he had a backup plan. Everyone would be safe from his crusade.

Joker went to another hideout he had so he could actually figure out a the beginnings of a plan. He could pretend to be a regular human again but what would be the fun in that? If he had truly found out about Jeannie he knew about him just as much as he knew about Bruce. They would meet each other as they are and he would finally get what he wanted. He would know everything about Batman and it would only be him that knew.

***

Days past as Bruce continued to feel on edge and kept his guard up at all times. It soon got to a point that he scared his secretary when she forgot to knock and came into his office. He had jumped from his chair and even picked it up before he realized it was someone safe. Bruce did everything in his power to apologize and gave her a few days off at a spa. She did assure him that he didn’t have to go that far but he felt bad and did it anyway.

It was a late night at the office since crime was still low and Jason was able to take care of it himself so he could catch up with the Asylum and Lucius. He was actually tired instead of being wired and ready to go out into the night when he left the building. Bruce may have overworked himself because of how he sent his secretary away for a few days but it was worth it, she needed a break anyway. He got to his car before he noticed a fast moving reflection in the windows. Bruce quickly swung his briefcase back to stop the attacker and instead Joker caught it in his hands. “Hey Brucie!” he smiled widely.

Bruce’s eyes widened a little and yanked his briefcase out of the other man’s hands. “Why are you here?” he asked trying to see if playing dumb will make him go away or if his fear had happened.

”You’re still in hopes that I don’t know your Bat-“ he started but was cut off by Bruce placing a hand over his mouth.

”You know?” he asked. “Why haven’t you gone to anyone?”

Joker smiled under his hand and pulled away. “Because without you, there’d be no more fun for me.” he laughed loudly.

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows and looked around to see if anyone else had noticed who was standing with him. “Get in the car.”

”Is that an order?” asked Joker with a wide smile.

”You know where you belong and I can take you there.” answered Bruce.

Joker laughed loudly again and had Bruce looking around to make sure no one had appeared. “I know where I belong alright and it’s right here, causing you trouble.”

Bruce frowned at him before opening the door to his car, grab Joker by the wrist and force him into the car. He moved over to the driver side of the car and got in surprised that Joker didn’t instantly try getting back out. “I don’t want people to know that I’m Batman.”

”And I already assured you that I wouldn’t tell anyone.” he pointed out to him.

”And I find that hard to believe.” Bruce shot back at him and Joker only smiled. “What do you want?” he asked. If Joker wasn’t here to let the world know who Batman was then he had to be here for something else.

”You.” answered Joker. He was still smiling and turned in the seat a little more so he could face him completely. “I want you to keep being who you are and I’ll keep being who I am.”

Bruce shook his head at that as he started up the car so he could drive and try to think of a way of getting Joker to the Asylum without him knowing. “You kill people.”

”I do.” he agreed with a giggle.

”You need help.” stated Bruce.

Joker rolled his eyes a little and shook his head. “No, I don’t need help. Nothing can change the past and you know that just as much as I do.”

Bruce looked over at him for a few seconds before back at the road. He knew that he couldn’t change what had happened and there was definitely no going back from being Batman now. The last thing he needed was Joker retaliating because he decided to retire from being a vigilante. “Alright it can’t but you can stop killing people and become Jack again.”

The laughter that came out of Joker wasn’t a happy sound even though he was smiling and leaned back in the seat. “He was the first one that I killed. There is nothing left for Jack.” he explained before looking over at Bruce. “Who killed who to make you want to save everybody from dying? You even save me and all the other villains. Who died that made you cherish life?”

Memories flooded back faster than Bruce would have liked and he remembered walking down Crime Alley so they could walk home after the movie. When the robbers showed up and he was slowly pushed behind his parents. His dad was in front and he was trying to reason with the men before the sound of a shot pierced his ears. Bruce watched as his father fell and then they went after his mom who pushed Bruce farther behind her. She tried to pull away and was shot as well. His eyes were wide as he looked down at his parents and slowly knelt down so he could try to see if they were okay, he needed them to be okay.

To this day Bruce still had no idea why the men left him alone and took off running. He was left there kneeling next to his parents, dying and getting cold. Life could be taken away so fast and without meaning too, he remembered the files on Joker’s wife. How she had died because of an electrical short and they baby couldn’t be saved either. There really was no difference between them. Bruce still had no idea what was the final push for Joker but for him, it was continuing to see people get hurt because of the crime. That’s when he decided that somebody needed to change Gotham for the better and keep crime from destroying another family.

”So who was it?” asked Joker, his voice helping to bring Bruce back to the present and realized that he had been stopped a stop sign longer than he should have been.

Bruce was fairly certain that even if he didn’t tell him Joker would pry until he figured it out anyway. It would be faster and less painful because he might accidentally let someone know who Batman was by looking up things about Bruce. “My parents.” he finally answered and was surprised that Joker gave him as much time as he needed to say it.

”Your parents, my wife and child…no wonder I liked you the first time we met.” he smiled widely.

”There’s still things we haven’t told each other.” he pointed out because he didn’t and wouldn’t share that much information about him.

Joker laughed a little at that as he moved his whole body to face Bruce. “Like what was the final tip to insanity?” he asked.

Bruce’s body tensed up when he saw Joker move out of the corner of his eye and readied for him to attack. “I’m not insane.”

”Says the man who dresses up as a bat, beats up criminals during the night, and then pretends that everything is normal as a billionaire.” he retorted. “You belong in Arkham just as much as the rest of us but the only reason you feel you don’t belong is because you don’t kill people while I do.”

Bruce shook his head at that because there were other reasons why they belonged and he didn’t. He could hold down a normal life while going out at night and helping the cops. He didn’t kill people and…and…alright maybe there wasn’t more than two reasons. “You can’t hold down a normal life which is mostly because you kill people.”

Joker raised his eyebrows at that and moved to grab the steering wheel to pull the car to the side. Bruce quickly slammed on his brakes and thankfully didn’t hit anyone or crash into anything before he put the vehicle in park. “You are not any better than me. I can hold down a normal life which apparently is the only reason we deserve to be in Arkham.”

”I consider a normal life of having a job, a house and relationships.”

”Your only relationships are the people that help you be Batman.” he pointed out. “I have Harley and you. My job is a criminal and I do have a house, you just don’t know about it.” he smiled. “I have a normal life for a criminal while you have a normal life for a vigilante. No matter how you look at it, we’re not the same as John Doe who goes by us on the sidewalk. We don’t have a normal life, we just live the life we have which feels normal to the both of us but looks crazy to others.”

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows at that and hated how much that made sense because they were basically living the same life albeit one difference. “I still have better relationships because I actually talk and treat people with respect. You use Harley for your own goals.” he pointed.

Joker shrugged a little because he would never deny that he was using her but he did have to deny one thing. “I do have a good relationship and it’s with you.” he smiled before he reached out to set his hands on either side of Bruce’s face and roughly kiss him. It was overdue, felt good and it helped make it easier to push Jeannie completely out of his mind.

The billionaire wished he would have reacted sooner but he was caught up in it the moment Joker’s lips touched his. He has had a lot of women and even a couple men in his bed over the years but none of them felt like this. Bruce blamed it on the fact he was kissing his arch nemesis and not because of the relationship that has never been close to a name up until now. He finally pulled himself away and pushed Joker by the chest to press him against the door. Bruce glared at him and made sure he couldn’t get that close again. “We are not in a relationship.”

”Says the man who was half hard when he was pinning me to the Batmobile.” pointed out Joker and laughed at how Bruce’s glare only darkened. “Don’t tell me you haven’t had thoughts about me past just beating me up and dragging me to Arkham.”

”That’s it.” delcared Bruce before he reached for the door to open it and push Joker out.

Joker wouldn’t let him though and grabbed his arm to pull it away from his chest. “You like hitting me and we do have something between us.”

”There’s nothing other than me taking you to Arkham and trying to get you help.” he argued.

”What if this was the way to help me? A healthy relationship to help get over my past sounds like a good thing.” he smiled widely.

Bruce looked at him for a few seconds before moving fast to open the door and push him out. “Not with me.” he stated before he closed the door and quickly could drive off without Joker bugging him anymore that night. He really didn’t think that Joker would make his life hard in this way. It wasn’t like he was blind or didn’t understand what Joker was talking about. Bruce felt the tension and no matter how he tried to deny it, he was semi-hard when he pinned Joker to the Batmobile. When he got to a red light he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. _I’m not sure how to handle this…_

Alfred was waiting for Bruce to come home since it was later than usual and wondered if he ran into some trouble as Batman. He hoped not because he had gone down to the Batcave to see if he would answer him but he didn’t. The older man was waiting by the front door when he finally saw the car pull up to the house. “Master Wayne?” he asked as Bruce walked into the house. The man was definitely tense and his brows furrowed. “Did something happen?”

”Joker finally made an appearance.” he answered.

”So he does know.” nodded Alfred and followed Bruce as he headed to the kitchen.

Bruce got a glass and filled it with water before taking a drink. He was holding off the conversation as he tried to gather his thoughts and not let Alfred know everything about it. The last thing he needed was making the older man worry more about him. He could ignore Joker’s advances like it never happened and he definitely did not have the same thoughts as the clown. They cannot have a deeper relationship than they already have. What was their relationship right now? Could they be a…no, they couldn’t. There was too big of a difference between them in order for it to happen. “He doesn’t want be to stop being Batman so he won’t tell anyone who I truly am.” he explained.

”I can understand that but then what would he want from you?” he asked.

”He didn’t really say.” he lied definitely not wanting to finish telling the story about what had happened.

”At least we’re ready for anything.” pointed out Alfred before he focused on making dinner.

Bruce slowly nodded as he headed to the living room so he could sit down and continue to think about what had happened tonight. He was dead set on not letting Joker under his skin. There was no way they could be a couple like Joker had hinted at. What was his real intentions behind all of this?

Even though Joker loved the idea of messing with Batman even more, he actually meant it. The only time he felt truly better when thinking about Jeannie or his past was when his mind trailed to thinking about the vigilante. Joker liked to think about him, knew their destinies were intertwined the moment they met at Ace Chemicals, and could thank him for bringing joy back into his life. Batman had helped him become who he was and he had an obsession with the man. Now that he knew even more about him, it didn’t help it one bit. He needed Batman just as much as Batman needed him. All he had to do was get the other man to understand that.


	23. Jason

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So did anyone else think I was dead? I sure as hell did. I never imagined that taking two classes for online college where it's all condensed into eight weeks would be difficult but it fucking is! Anyway, are you ready for excuses because I love making them~. Number one, Deadpool came out, my friend finally got me to watch the Amazing Spider-Man, and now I'm on a Spideypool kick. I won't give up this story however but it has been hard to get in the right mind set. Number two, I had to do a documentary film for one of my classes in just four weeks and all day yesterday I finished editing, it rendered, and posted on Youtube...it took forever. Finally, I have no idea what my posting schedule will be during my last four weeks of these two classes. I'm stressed, I have no ambition to write and I'm tired a lot because of my work giving me weeks where I work 45+ hours. Most of all I wanted to let you guys know I'm not giving up, I'm still here and I will finish this story even if it takes longer than I anticipated.

Bruce usually prided himself in telling everyone what was going on but he needed to keep Joker knowing about his identity a secret from Dick, Jason, and Barbara. They would only need to worry about it when Joker began to attack everyone and the clown made it clear by now, it’s been a couple weeks, that he didn’t want to go after them all. It looked like they could continue with their own lives and Joker would just continue to be a menace to Bruce alone. He was more than okay with Joker making his life difficult as long as it was only his.

Joker went quiet again after their little drive and a couple other patients ended up escaping on top of Joker and Harley. Batman was able to get them all back to where they belong and once again waiting on Joker to make a mistake. Out of all the villains, Joker was the only one who would be able to evade Batman time and time again but he usually slipped up and gave the vigilante an advantage. That’s all he had to wait for and deal with the damage done until then as Bruce.

Jason, just like everyone else could tell that something was different with Bruce and instead of just claiming it to be because Joker was out, he felt like it was something else. He wanted to believe that he understood Bruce better than anyone else since he lived with him and saw him more. He wanted to believe that so badly and yet, he knew he was the second Robin, he knew he couldn’t be as good as Dick, and he knew that he would never replace Dick’s spot. Bruce did let him have some free reign while he caught up at his day time job but it wasn’t the same as taking over a whole city to protect. Jason really didn’t want to hate Dick because he was a good friend but he was jealous. Their situations were different, techniques different and they were their own person but he was still jealous.

The teen decided to let off some steam by going to the training room and get his head into the proper space. Nightfall was coming and since the only villain out there was Joker, Bruce and him would be going around in search of him. He didn’t need to be thinking about if Bruce loved him or not, the man was quiet and brooded all the time, it was just who he was. That didn’t mean Bruce felt no love toward him but the mind was a tricky thing and his loved to destroy him.

Bruce was ready to head out and went to find out where Jason was hiding. Dick was always ready before him but Jason, he was usually in the training room. He opened the door and was glad he was right about him again. “Jason, get ready, we’re leaving in ten.” he announced.

Jason paused in punching the dummy and looked over at the door. “Okay, I’ll be ready.” he assured him. He took a couple of breaths as Bruce left the doorway and then quickly headed to the cave to get dressed.

Joker decided that to get some alone time with Batman and without things getting way too out of hand, he was going to do small crimes. Getting a little extra money wouldn’t hurt anybody and people just bent down when a bank robbery occurred. He would have almost little to no resistance and he would have no reason to kill anyone. The last thing he wanted was to piss Batman off enough that he would actually try to capture him and take him to Arkham. Joker walked into the bank with a couple of thugs before shooting at the ceiling. It got everyone’s attention and the thugs quickly went toward the tellers to make sure they set off the alarm. Joker went around rounding up the few people and into one office. After the tellers had set the alarm off the thugs pushed them into the same room and one stood in front of the door. Joker went about getting into the vault while the other thugs watched the exits.

Alfred called Batman and he picked up right away since they couldn’t find anything going on. “There’s a robbery going on at the Gotham Bank.” he stated.

”A robbery? Do the cops know who yet?” asked Batman.

”Actually, the people who are being held still have access to their phones and explained that Joker is the one robbing the bank.”

Batman furrowed his eyebrows at that, “That doesn’t sound like Joker…are we sure they’re the hostages?” he asked.

”Yes, the thug that’s keeping them in the room keeps assuring them it’s okay to tell everyone about it.”

”That does sound like Joker.” pointed out Robin sitting up straighter. Jason didn’t confront Joker very often and it usually happened after Batman had already taken care of him. He was ready to finally get at the worst criminal in Gotham. Batman nodded in agreement before hanging up on Alfred and heading toward the bank. He pulled the car over a few blocks from the building and both of them got out so they could grapple to the rooftops.

Joker got all the money collected and handed it off to one of the thugs. “Take it and go back to the hideout.” he instructed. “We’re going to stay here and make sure you get away and so I can mess with Batman.” he smiled widely. The thug nodded before taking off out the back entrance before cops and Batman could see him. Joker laughed loudly as he turned toward the entrance and pulled up a chair. “Now we wait!”

Batman and Robin went in by the roof and the cops showed up outside asking for the hostages to be released. Joker didn’t budge from his spot and continued to look forward as well. He knew how Batman worked and he wouldn’t be attacked until all of the thugs were taken care of. This time was different though because he heard someone fall behind him and he quickly stood up to throw the chair behind him.

Robin didn’t think that Joker would hear him and got hit by the chair. He cursed at the pain and knew that Batman would be upset with him for alerting Joker so early about their presence. “You’re going down Joker.” he glared.

”I hate it when he brings the bat baby along. He works so much better without you.” stated Joker as he took out his gun to shoot at Jason.

Batman noticed how Robin had attacked Joker too soon and didn’t care about being quiet as he took down the rest of the thugs. When he saw the gun he quickly threw a batarang at Joker’s hand. Joker hissed and lowered the gun’s barrel to shake the hand that was hit but kept a grip on the gun. Jason needed just that little bit of a distraction so he could move in closer to kick the gun out of his hand. “Surrender yourself now or it’s going to get a lot worse.” warned Robin.

Joker giggled at the threat and shook his head. “I didn’t come out of hiding for you, I came out of hiding for Batman. You’re only fighting me because he wants to keep as much distance from me as possible. He doesn’t trust you at all to hold your own against someone like me.” he laughed loudly and Jason couldn’t control his anger as he went to punch him in the face. The clown stepped to the side and slammed his elbow into his back. Robin cried out as he fell to the ground and quickly rolled away before Joker could kick him in the ribs.

”You’re only making this harder on yourself.” pointed out Robin as he got back onto his feet before lunging at Joker.

”No no no no no, you’re just proving my point.” laughed Joker as he deflected the kick and punched him in the stomach. “You’re nothing compared to the old one. At least he didn’t let his anger get to him so easily over a couple comments.”

Robin’s anger continued to get worse as Joker said his fears out loud and finally landed a punch at Joker’s jaw. Batman swooped in finally after he got rid of the rest of the thugs and kicked Joker in the side. The clown went flying a little and when he landed Joker could only laugh. “Time for you to go back Joker.” stated Batman.

”If I’m going back so soon, I want you to handcuff me.” smirked Joker as he stood up and brushed his suit off. “I was really hoping for some alone time instead of the brat getting in the way.”

Batman rolled his eyes, “Do we still need to fight?”

Joker shook his head at that and set his hands on his hips as he leaned a little backwards to pop his back. “I’ll be taking my leave since I won’t get any alone time with you.” he stated as he blew Batman a kiss. Two more thugs came out of the shadows and hit the vigilante’s heads to make them disoriented enough for Joker to escape. They also stayed behind to continue fighting the the thugs and wasn’t able to follow Joker.

Bruce and Jason got the thugs that were left behind put away and headed on home. There were no other things going on so Bruce decided to call it an early night. He didn’t want Jason to do something reckless when he just had a bad run in with Joker. “Is everything okay?” asked Bruce.

”Yeah, it’s fine.” he assured him replaying a few things that Joker had said and how he agreed with them. He looked over at Bruce wondering how he really thought but he hardly ever spoke about his feelings. The one thing he always heard about was Joker, the main thing he talked about was Joker. Why would Joker say that Bruce was trying to stay away from him when that’s the only thing they can bring up without any hesitation? “Are you hiding anything?” asked Jason bluntly.

”No.” he answered without hesitation and looked over at Jason studying him. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with you?”

Jason rolled his eyes and looked out the window. “Answering a question with another question.” he mumbled.

Bruce decided to ignore the statement and focus on parking the Batmobile so they could get out of their suits and relax. He watched as Jason hurried up and left the cave way before he was ready too. He wanted to go over everything that he heard Joker say one more time before going to bed.

Jason got to his room and closed the door locking it. He sighed a little and leaned against the door. _What is Bruce hiding?_ It obviously deals with Joker and it already pissed him off that he acted like he knew Bruce better! Sure they’ve been fighting for a lot longer than he’s been around but that didn’t mean anything. He lived with Bruce and he should know but he felt like he didn’t. Jason soon picked up one of his books and threw it across the room. That helped him feel a little bit better.

***

Things were jumping again the next night with criminals cropping up everywhere and Bruce and him split up. Jason didn’t mind having confidence from Bruce even if there was way too many for them to get all in one night. He wondered if this was because of Joker since he did say that he wanted Bruce alone to begin with. None of it made sense to him and he didn’t focus too much on it since he needed to focus on something else that was more important at the moment. It was pretty easy to catch and give the criminals over to the cops. He was keeping up with Bruce and and toward the last batch of guys in his side of town he spotted a purple figure. His attention was fixed on the fast moving person and quickly ran after him.

Joker was the one tearing the two of them apart and made sure that he would have the little bat baby all to himself. He continued to run hearing the thugs behind him get knocked around and glanced back seeing a fast figure move between shadows. _Perfect._ The clown couldn’t help from laughing loudly as he continued to run to get out of one building into the next. He turned around and took out a couple cards, one for each hand as he waited for Robin to come at him.

Robin followed him easily and didn’t bother to hide himself as he headed into the building. He soon spotted Joker standing down the hallway waiting for him. “Was this part of your plan or were you expecting Batman?” he asked.

”No, no, no! I was expecting you bat baby! I’m glad you were able to make it and without our friendly crusader behind you.” he smiled widely as he quickly threw both cards at Robin.

Robin dodged the cards and threw his own batarangs and watched the villain avoid them as well. “I’m going to bring you in.” he declared.

Joker had to stop moving and just laugh at the stupidity of that statement. “It’s amazing how highly you think of yourself.” he said slowly catching his breath. “You can never be Batman, he will never trust you to take care of your own city, and you have anger issues. I’ve seen it the last time we fought and by talking with everyone else at Arkham. You’re barely fit to fight by his side.”

”I am fit to fight and I’ll prove it to you!” snapped Robin before attacking him and went to punch his jaw.

Joker took out a knife as he dodged the punch and stabbed at Robin’s side. Robin jumped back and kicked Joker’s hand to get the knife out of his hand. “Good so far.” he smiled and grabbed his gun to shoot at Robin.

Robin almost got hit by the shot because he was surprised at how quickly he pulled it out. He was waiting for more gag tricks to come his way so it looked like Joker was pretty serious with fighting him. He threw a couple of batarangs and Joker moved around to dodge every single one of them before shooting at Robin again. This time the bullet grazed his arm and he bit his lip as he rolled away to gain some distance. _I need to beat him but how? He gets away so many times and Bruce never does anything about it! He gets free, we fight, we detain him and then it starts back over! This is the worst criminal, it’d be easier if we get rid of him for good._

”Oh by the way, I know Bats wouldn’t tell you about it because he’s a special one but I know a secret that you don’t~.” sang Joker as he put his gun away.

”What is it?” snapped Jason tired of hearing Joker talk.

Joker smiled wider as he slowly walked up to Robin and the teenager didn’t see a reason to run since he was wiling to give out information. “Our brooding night crusader is Bruce Wayne.” he whispered softly.

Robin tensed and his eyes widened. He couldn’t even breathe as he realized what that all entailed. If Joker knew who Batman was then he would also know who he was, who Alfred was and who everyone was! This wasn’t good and even after Joker finding out Batman’s identity the billionaire still did nothing to get him off the streets! “How?” he asked finally able to use his voice again.

”That’s all you get tonight Robin.” he smiled before he quickly turned around and ran so he could leave Robin to his thoughts.


	24. Teasing Robin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I did take my time with this one and I feel really bad about it. I wanted to make sure things were going in the right direction and people didn't act out of character. I'm still not too sure how this chapter will go over with you guys but I hope you enjoy it and forgive me for taking so long! I keep going back and forth between Joker and what should he do when Robin comes to fight, I'm still not sure and I would really hate for what little progress Batjokes has made for it to all go up in flames. Then again maybe it's a good thing for it to happen. I've really been thinking about the upcoming chapters, please continue to put up with me while I decide if Joker should torture and proceed to pretend to kill Robin or just return him to Bruce.

Robin was in a haze the whole way back to the Batmobile. He was glad that Bruce wasn’t there yet because it would give him more time to think. _What did it mean if Joker knew who they were? Why wouldn’t Bruce let him know? Did Alfred know?! What else is Bruce hiding from him? Can he trust him anymore?_ It didn’t matter if Joker showed no care about Robin’s identity it still didn’t mean anything good. Joker never brought any good to anybody. He soon called up Alfred and looked around again to make sure Bruce wasn’t there.

”Robin? Is something wrong?” asked Alfred.

”No…yes.” he answered before sighing deeply. “Yeah, there is something wrong. I ran into Joker and he told me that he knew who Bruce was, that he is Batman.” he explained deciding to just get it done and over with it.

Alfred went quiet not sure of what to do especially since it wasn’t Bruce that told him what Joker knew. He knew that the reason why Joker would tell him now is to get under his skin. “Are you safe?” he asked.

Robin rolled his eyes, “Of course I’m safe! You knew didn’t you?!” He took a deep breath and began to pace around in a circle. “You fucking knew the whole time! Bruce isn’t always right! You should have told me!”

Alfred let the teen rant and moved to sit down. “I knew and Bruce thought it would be best if Master Grayson, Barbara, and you didn’t know. I do think he was right to think that since Joker made no moves to hurt either of you. I’m sor-“

Robin cut him off, “Don’t say it! You’re not sorry or you would have told me! It’s kind of important to know that the one guy that can cause the worst headaches to Bruce knows who we are. I can handle news like this.” he assured him.

”Jason, you need to talk to Bruce about it. I’m sure that even I don’t know everything that has been going on, I’m only given information when Bruce gives it, just like you.” he reminded him.

”I know.” nodded Robin as he stopped pacing and took a deep breath. “I know and I will.” Robin did wonder if he was handling the news well. He was yelling at Alfred and he wasn’t the one who made the final decision. “Thanks Alfred.” he said before hanging up the phone.

Alfred looked at the computer before getting up from the seat to continue doing his work. _I hope that Jason proves himself this time that he can take bad news to Bruce so we stop hiding things from him._

Bruce got back to the Batmobile a few seconds after Jason hung up on Alfred and opened up the Batmobile. “Let’s go home.” he said moving to get in. Jason moved slow as he got into the vehicle and didn’t look over at Bruce once. “Jason? Is something wrong?” he asked.

”Yeah.”

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows and shut the Batmobile before turning to face Jason as much as he could. “Then what is it?”

”Joker, why is he always hard to beat?” he asked hoping that if he got Bruce to talk about him a little more than he would talk about how Joker knows who Batman was.

Bruce really didn’t believe that beating Joker was the only thing that Jason was worried about and glanced away. “He’s hard to beat because of his unpredictability.” he answered. “He never has one agenda and it could switch halfway through his plan.” The last part was kind of a lie because it seemed like the one thing he liked to do was screw with Batman’s life. For instance actually figuring out who his day time identity was and doing nothing to make Bruce’s life difficult…other than stealing money.

Jason turned to look at Bruce and wondered if there was any way he could get him to admit it without asking straight out. “Do you know anything about him?” he asked.

”Other than he’s Joker and he wasn’t in the criminal database until he started being Joker.” he answered him and lying again. Bruce wasn’t going to tell him anything about Joker other than what he needed to know about him now. It was obvious that Joker had nothing left of his old life other than memories and he couldn’t blame the man for not wanting to repeat them. Which is why he was glad that Joker hadn’t done anything to cause trouble at the mansion or with anybody else who has helped him because they were safe from how his parents died. Eventually there would be a time that everyone that helped him would be in danger but that’s why he had a plan to stop it from happening.

”Does he know anything about us?” continued to ask Jason.

Bruce was glad they made it back to the Batcave when that question was asked and turned off the Batmobile before looking at Jason. “What do you mean?”

Jason glared a little at him before getting out. “Never mind.”

”Jason, what did you mean?!” he called out to him as he got out to follow the teenager.

Jason completely ignored him and went straight up to his room. He locked the door behind him and then took off his costume. _I don’t know why I expected anything different._ He was definitely angry with Bruce and decided to look at all the information they had on Joker to find anything that he could get on him. There had to be something that he could use to get back at Joker and so far with all of his searches and information that Bruce collected. Jason didn’t have access to the folder that Bruce kept secret from him in order to find out Joker’s past identity and after not finding anything substantial he pushed his computer away. Joker’s words were still bothering him and he didn’t like Joker being in his head. He soon lied back on the bed and looked at the ceiling.

***

Jason was out the next night all by himself prowling the streets but it sure didn’t feel like he was alone. Bruce was keeping tabs on him in between the times Alfred was keeping tabs on him. If there was a criminal hiding from him they would hear him coming a mile away because of all the talking he had to do. He heard about a jewelry store being robbed and quickly headed that way. Jason barely got to the building before Bruce called him up again and he couldn’t enter the store when he was talking to him so he kept an eye on the exit.

“Jason? Has there been any activity on the police radio?” asked Bruce trying his best to keep away from being Batman for the night but he still wanted to be out in the night and not stuck in his office.

”No.” he instantly lied not wanting Bruce to think he had to come along. It was just a small jewelry theft, he could handle it.

Bruce nodded at that and looked over his pile of paperwork. _Wasn’t having Lucius supposed to help me in this matter?!_ He then remembered when he brought it up the last time to Lucius. All he got was an earful about how he may be in charge of keeping the business running, he wasn’t the one that could sign the papers. “Be careful.” he told Jason before setting his ear piece down.

Jason was glad he could be left alone but instead of it being just a regular jewelry thief, the person was Harley Quinn. She was in her usual outfit but she had a large hammer, one that would be used in the carnival game to hit the bell and it had to be three feet wide. He completely forgot that she got out of the asylum at the same time because the only person Bruce ever focused on was Joker. The teenager quickly moved to get closer as Joker followed Harley out of the store. _Joker really isn’t acting like his normal self at all._

A couple cops got to the store just at the right time and pointed their guns at the duo. “Stop right there!” yelled one of them.

Joker and Harley both smiled widely as they took out a gun. “They’re always so peppy when they try to catch us!” laughed Harley.

”They should know by now that the cops can’t do anything in this town.” pointed out Joker and Robin wasn’t going to let them kill a couple of innocent cops.

”Hey!” he yelled at them as he threw two batarangs to knock the guns out of their hands.

Harley was the only one who looked and lost her weapon thanks to the batarang. Joker knew better and moved his gun out of the way. “Great, we have the bat baby bothering us.” he stated.

Robin jumped in between the duo and the cops. “Call in back up.” he told the cops.

”You won’t be able to save them Robin, you’re not Batman.” pointed out Joker as he quickly moved to shoot the cop to the left. The cop yelled out in pain as he fell to the ground and Robin quickly turned around. “One down, most likely dead already and you couldn’t save him.” he smiled.

The second cop quickly moved to shoot at Joker but Harley knew he would do something like that and had picked up her gun in time to shoot him first. Robin had no idea why he froze up the way he did but he finally snapped out of it when the other cop dropped to the ground as well. He threw two batarangs to knock the guns out of their hands and Harley lost her gun yet again. “Naughty bat baby!” she exclaimed before charging at Robin and swinging her hammer.

Robin really didn’t think it would be lethal, just another gag in their arsenal of weapons so he tried to block it but ended up falling to the ground. _What the…how can she swing that?!_

His arm definitely hurt and wished he didn’t try blocking it now. He slowly got up to his feet and tried to ignore the pain in his arm.

”I guess you really want to try fighting us.” he smiled widely and stepped closer to Robin. Robin was ready for him to attack but instead Joker reached for his flower and released the same gas he escaped from Batman before. Joker began to giggle as Robin shook his head a little at the smell and knew it wasn’t acid but his body began to move a little slow. At that moment he remembered the gas that Bruce warned him about a while ago and that was the one that Joker used. Joker laughed loudly as he hooked an arm around Harley’s and they escaped with their jewels and two dead cops in their midst.

Robin turned around to go after him but for the most part his arms weren’t moving right, they were slow and it got to a point that he couldn’t really move them anymore. He was actually happy when Bruce checked in on him a few minutes later and when he heard what had happened he quickly got dressed and went to get Robin. After Robin was cured of the gas they both went home while the cops worked on clearing up the scene. Robin focused on the cops the whole time and couldn’t help but keep thinking about how he wasn’t like Batman, he couldn’t help them. He froze instead of saving the other cop who probably had a family.

Bruce didn’t say anything until they had gotten back home and began to get out of their costumes. “Jason, what has been going on with you?” he asked.

Jason shook his head, “I’m fine.”

”You lied when you said that nothing was going on tonight and you couldn’t take your eyes off the dead cops. Something is going on in your head and you’re refusing to tell me.” he pressed.

”You keep things from me constantly!” snapped Jason tired of it all. “He knows who we are! Do we even know who he is?!” he exclaimed. “I’m tired of the secrets!” Jason quickly took off the rest of his outfit before storming off upstairs.

Bruce didn’t follow him as he sighed and closed his eyes. He knew that all of this was going to catch up to him he just hoped that it would happen after Joker was back in Arkham. He still felt like there was something else he was holding back and until he finally talked about it, Jason wouldn’t be going out as Robin.

Jason slammed the door shut to his room even though no one was around to hear it and couldn’t get Joker’s words out of his head. There had to be something he could do to stop Joker and to stop people from getting hurt. He went through his head of everything that they had to fight against the villains in this town and none of them were really lethal. Jason paused on his way over to his bed and looked at his computer. _Nothing lethal...maybe that’s what’s wrong._ He sat down at his computer and began to look over lethal weapons. Jason saw the gun and hovered his mouse over it. He remembered the reasons why he became an orphan, why Dick became an orphan and why Bruce was an orphan. All of their families were killed by people in this city, should he really pick up a lethal weapon?

Bruce couldn’t keep away from Jason with everything that was going on and knocked on his door. “Jason?” he asked.

Jason startled and quickly shut the lid on his laptop, “Yeah?” he answered turning to look at the door.

”Can I come in?”

”You can.” he said turning completely away from his computer but didn’t get up from the chair.

Bruce opened the door and looked over at Jason. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Joker knowing my identity. I haven’t told anybody except Alfred.” he admitted and crossed his arms over his chest. “I guess in between the time of Dick leaving and you being trained I got too used to being on my own again. I’m sorry and from now I will try my best to give you all the information I can.”

Jason was surprised to hear that and felt a lot better about everything that happened. “Do you know who he is?” he asked.

”No.” he instantly lied and he did feel bad about it especially right after he told him that he would do his best not too. Bruce needed to keep his identity secret just like Joker was keeping his secret. He didn’t know why he felt the need to do so but he would do it.

”Okay.” he nodded and leaned back in his chair. “I’m going to study a little bit but thanks Bruce.”

Bruce nodded and began to leave the room. He stopped before closing the door and looked back at Jason. “Good night.”

”Good night.” replied Jason as the door closed and he looked back at his computer again. _Lethal weapons?_

***

Jason ate breakfast quietly the next day as he thought about what he should do to stop Joker. Everyone had family taken away violently and most of it was because of lethal weapons. Did he really want to stoop down to the enemy’s level? _No, I will beat Joker the proper way, that’s what I’ll do._ If he did defeat him without any help from Bruce, Alfred, and Barbara it would show exactly how Joker can’t underestimate him.

While they were eating breakfast Joker had stopped by the mansion as discreetly as possible. He couldn’t even let Harley know he was there and that was enough of a hassle as is. She wanted to come with him and mess with Robin but also wanted to know how Joker had an idea of how to do so in the first place. Joker was glad he kept an eye on the mansion whenever he could so that he could leave a huge poster board on Robin’s window with a note. After he hung it up he quickly left before anyone would realize he was there.

Jason still didn’t say much as he took care of the dishes and headed up to his room. He closed the door and looked up instantly noticing the poster board. His eyes widened at the thought of Joker actually knowing which room he was in and slowly walked over to the board as he looked for any traps. _Little Robin wants to play, well I will play too! Come meet me at the jewelry store to have some revenge and laughs!_ Jason’s eyes widened a little and quickly grabbed the board to tear it up and hide it out of sight. This was his chance to take down Joker and he would do it without any help.


	25. Getting the Point Across

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Batjokes will continue to grow and not be torn apart thanks to Joker's actions. The next chapter...definitely going to have some sex. This may make me take longer to get a chapter out because of it since I don't believe I'm very good with writing sex scenes but I will do my best. I'm still trying to get it within a month of updating this story but as usual, I'm still glad you guys are sticking around and still loving my work. Thanks so much <3

Joker knew that the only way he would get anything through the vigilante’s heads would be to take drastic measures. That’s why he decided to invite Robin to a fight and then afterward he would return him home still intact. He would kill two birds with stone tonight…well not really killing anyone but he figured that was a fast track to getting on Bruce’s side. Harley was helping him at the jewelry store and getting everything ready for tonight. They wouldn’t have the whole gang with them but they would have a few to make sure that Robin couldn’t fight back while he talked to him about his recklessness.

Jason didn’t come out of his room after getting the note from Joker and didn’t really want to talk with Bruce or Alfred so that they didn’t think anything was going on. He just had to sneak downstairs to his outfit, leave and come back before anyone noticed he was gone. Jason knew he could do it and this was the perfect time for it. There was no way Joker was going to trick him and for all he knew, it sounded like it would be a fight just against Joker and his thugs, not a threat to anybody else’s life.

***

Robin was able to escape the mansion without anyone noticing he was gone. He didn’t outright say he was going to bed, just told them he would be staying in his room for the night since he wasn’t able to go out as Robin. They accepted that a lot better than they would have if he said he was going to bed for the night. He soon got to the store and saw one man standing at every exit of the store. _This will be easy._ Robin jumped onto the jewelry store roof and walked up behind the first thug before jumping down behind him. He walked up to the thug and hit him in the head before pulling him to the ground and hitting him again to make he passed out. He did the same to the second guy before he walked into the store. Robin was as quiet as he could be keeping an eye out and guard up for anybody else other than Joker.

Thankfully since it was hard enough to keep her quiet he soon found out that Harley was here as well. “Mista J, he’s taking too long to get here.” she whined trying to be quiet but with her high pitched voice it traveled far. Joker shook his head and glared at her without even saying anything as he told her to stay put. He moved away from her not wanting to be caught just yet by Robin. “But…” she started to follow him again and Joker’s glare darkened. “Fine.” she pouted picking up her bat and looking around for Robin.

Robin was waiting for her to move and popped around the corner of the store to grab her arm and pull her to the ground. Harley jumped a little and only stumbled keeping herself on her feet. He followed after her and tried kicking her feet out from under her. She turned around at the same time swinging her bat but missed as she fell back on the ground.

”Ow!” she exclaimed moving to grab her bat again but Robin was on her fast and punched her jaw. Harley groaned as her vision blacked out and fell unconscious.

Joker smiled at that glad that Robin could take care of her so they could have some alone time. “So is your only plan to beat me up?” he asked.

”Yeah.” answered Robin before quickly moving toward Joker and dropped to the ground to sweep his feet from under him.

Joker quickly backed up and took a defensive stance. “I was hoping we could talk out our differences.” he pouted a little before stepping closer to the wall and picking up a crowbar.

Robin looked at the crowbar and shook his head. “You don’t want to talk anything out.” he declared. He then went after Joker again to punch him in the jaw. Joker lifted the crowbar up to help defend himself and Robin was glad he hit his arm instead of the crowbar. The clown didn’t let go of his weapon and quickly swung it at the teenager’s head. Robin jumped back and threw batarangs at him. Joker continued to swing the crowbar around to knock them all away. “Give up now!” ordered Robin. “And you might go to Arkham awake.”

Joker couldn’t help but let out a loud gleeful laugh at the idea of Robin threatening him. He really was nothing compared to Batman and couldn’t wait to prove it. “Oh sonny, you have so much confidence but no talent to back it up.” He charged at Robin and swung the crowbar at his legs that time. Robin jumped up into the air and finally connected a kick to Joker’s arm. Joker nearly dropped the crowbar as he rolled away to gain some distance. “I really don’t want to shoot you, I’d like you to be alive when I drop you off to Brucey.”

”He isn’t your friend and he will never be your friend.” growled Robin before attacking him again. The next few minutes of fighting went by quickly, each throwing their punches and trying to disable the other for an advantage. Robin was starting to feel himself tire as Joker showed no sign of slowing down. _How does he have all of this energy?_ It should be impossible for someone to move as long and fast as Joker was especially when each were connecting blows to the other. The only thing he could think of was that Joker hardly felt pain, he was aching that’s for sure but Joker showed no signs of it. Sure the man made noises when he was hit and recoiled from them but after that there was nothing. Robin jumped back a few feet trying to catch his breath and was glad to see Joker finally showing some signs of tiring. “Stay down.” he warned.

”I’m sorry but I don’t listen to bat babies.” he smiled widely and began to swing the crowbar in small circles. “Come at me.”

Robin ran up to him ready to punch his lights out as Joker swung the crowbar at his head. The punch connected to Joker’s shoulder but the crowbar also hit Robin’s head. The teenager fell to the ground watching black dots cover his vision. He tried his best to get back up but Joker was quick to slam the crowbar on his back.

”Stay down.” he smiled before kicking him in the head. Robin’s vision went completely black and Joker laughed until he was out of breath. “If only you stayed home.” he said as he moved to pick him up.

***

Robin slowly woke up feeling disoriented as he tried to open his eyes. They were heavy and his vision was blurry but he was quickly coming out of the fog as well. His arms couldn’t move and he could tell he was tied up in a chair right away. He soon lifted his head up and looked around. It was dark already and it made it hard to distinguish if his eyes were even open. As soon as they began to adjust he could make out he was in a circular room but he couldn’t figure which building he was in.

Laughter came floating down the hall in front of him and a light above his head turned on. Joker was there with a wide smile on his face. “Hello Jason, I’m glad we could have some one on one time.”

Jason hated it more that he said his actual name and squirmed in the binds. “Let me go.” he demanded.

”Still trying to be tough?” he asked as he bent down to be at eye level with him. “Don’t be, you’re scared and at the hands of your uncle Joker!”

Jason glared at him before spitting at his face. Joker just stood up shaking his head and wiped at his face. “I’ll still beat you.”

Joker shook his head and began to pace around him. “I just proved tonight that you can’t beat me Jason, I’m trying to help you.” he assured him. “I don’t want you to be scared of what’s going to happen tonight, I’m actually holding myself back. You’re not tied with bob wire.” he pointed out.

Jason rolled his eyes and leaned his head back trying to think of a way to get out of the chair. _I can’t listen to him this time, I just can’t._

”You won’t be able to beat me ever and to get it through your head, I’m going to beat it into it.” he explained going toward the darkness and coming back with the crowbar. “I am holding back but there’s only so much I can do in this little of time.” he smiled before swinging the crowbar. It connected to Jason’s chest and he coughed out as the chair fell back on the floor. The chair wasn’t made out of wood and was the only reason why it didn’t break when it hit the ground. Joker grabbed the chair to pull him back upright and set his hands on Jason’s arms as he looked over his face. “Jason, you need to stop being Robin, not only because Brucey boy is mine but because you’re going to get yourself killed. As much as I hate to admit it, Bruce cares about you and that’s why you need to be extra careful. He isn’t here though so I’m going to teach you that in my own way.”

Jason was surprised to hear Joker admit that Bruce cared for him and maybe he did but at the same time he still found it hard to believe. It wasn’t like he could ignore the fact that Bruce could never kill anyone, specifically Joker and gave him a pardon many times. He knew he couldn’t be on the top of the list he cared about but what pissed him off the most was that Joker was most likely at the top. “Bruce will never like you for this reason.” he stated.

Joker shrugged and swung the crowbar several times. He hit his body in several places but never his head since he didn’t want to give the kid a concussion and die on him. “Like I said, I’m here to teach you to give up before you die.” he stated before knocking Jason unconscious with a punch to the head. “Bruce will agree with me when I take you home.”

***

Bruce was just starting to head downstairs to see if he could track Jason when the doorbell rang. As much as he would have liked to answer he had to go find Jason and see what was going on. He didn’t know why the teenager left but he needed to find him. Alfred was the one who answered the door and when he did he yelled as loud as he could to get Bruce’s attention. “Master Bruce! Jason is here!”

Bruce was almost in the Batcave when he heard the butler and ran to the front door to watch him pull Jason inside. The teenager was beaten up, bloody and definitely had broken bones just by looking at him. “Jason.” he sighed glad to have him back but wondered what he did and where he went.

The two of them got Jason to his room so they could tend to his wounds and just as they were getting done Jason began to move. Jason soon tried shooting up from the bed but Bruce was quick to hold him down. “Jason, it’s okay, you’re home.” he assured him.

Jason looked over at Bruce and then at Alfred before laying back down with a heavy sigh. “Did you find me?” he asked.

”No, I was just about to go looking for you.” answered Bruce.

”Wait…so he brought me back?” asked Jason really thinking that Joker was lying the whole time and would try to kill him. He tried not to listen to him but this time he really meant what he said.

”Who had you?”

Jason shook his head not wanting to talk about it, he _really_ didn’t want to talk about it. No matter what was said and what was done, he couldn’t beat Joker. He wanted to prove to Bruce that he could be trusted and after today, coming home beaten and leaving without permission, he would never be trusted again. He didn’t know what he could do to redeem himself after tonight but right now he just didn’t want to talk. “I don’t want to talk right now.”

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows a little and looked him over. “Who did it?” he asked again.

Alfred shook his head at Bruce and motioned him to follow him out of the room, which Bruce did. “Not tonight Bruce.”

Bruce sighed and didn’t head back inside Jason’s room, Alfred was right, as always. He was glad Jason was back but didn’t want him beat up like that either. There was only one super villain free in Gotham City and he had a feeling it was Joker. He would go out to find him but he needed to stay here for Jason. Bruce went up to his room so he could get some sleep after worrying about Jason for hours and when he opened the door he didn’t expect to see Joker sitting on the couch. “Joker.” he glared.

”Hi Brucey! I’m glad you got your package.” he smiled widely.

The billionaire couldn’t be happier with Joker here right in front him and slowly walked up to Joker trying to hide his intent until he was close enough to punch him in the face. Joker’s head snapped to the side but only leaned back in the chair laughing loudly. “You could have killed him!” he snapped.

”But I didn’t!” he pointed out to him staying in the chair and making no move to hit him back.

”You could have killed him.” he repeated.

Joker slowly got up from the chair and Bruce took a step back so he could get up, the whole time expecting Joker to hit him back. “But I didn’t.” repeated Joker. “You know me and you know how well I can kill people. I had him for hours, may have beaten him around a bit with a crowbar but still alive.”

Bruce looked over his face slowly and felt the urge to hit him again. “Why didn’t you kill him?” he asked finding it weird that he was even asking him that. If it was any other person, would he have still killed them? Is he trying not to kill people anymore?

”Because Jason is your Robin, you care about him but he needed to be taught to pick his battles. I left him a note, taunting him and he came without notifying you and got himself into trouble. If it was anyone else they wouldn’t have given him a break.” he explained moving around Bruce to walk around the room and be nosy.

Bruce turned to watch him the whole time as he processed what he said. “Why do you care?” he asked.

”Because you care.” he stated turning to face Bruce again. “I’m trying to change for you.” he admitted.


	26. Coming to Terms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! I finally did it! I got in a chapter under a month! It's really nice to be visiting my friend after going to Howler Con in New Jersey and I think just being away from home helped me feel relaxed to do this. I don't know, I don't care, I am under a month and I hope you guys enjoy it~!

”You’re trying to change for me?” asked Bruce wanting to make sure he had heard that right because he couldn’t believe it. He could tell that Joker hadn’t killed anyone since he’s been out and he brought Robin back…after beating him up, he brought him back.

Joker nodded at that and went back to picking up everything in his room and looking through all the drawers. He liked touching things especially when it was someone who bought the most expensive things he could find. “Yeah, you and I both know about the chemistry between us and even Jason can see it. You are somehow the slowest person in the world while being the greatest detective.” he explained turning around to walk back toward Bruce.

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows at that and he knew that there was something between them because of all their past interactions. He didn’t want to admit it and he still wasn’t sure if he shoul. He felt it for a long time and if it could really help Joker, would it be bad to admit it? Bruce still felt that every villain he came across could redeem themselves if given the chance. What if something went wrong? What if he didn’t change or regress? What if he finally attacked his family or what was left of it? What if-

While Bruce was lost in his head Joker had slowly moved closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Joker smiled widely to himself glad he could get that far and leaned in to kiss him which freed Bruce out of his mind. He smiled when he felt Bruce come back to reality and felt even better when he didn’t pull away. Bruce returned the kiss slowly and Joker was the first to wrap his arms around Bruce. The kiss slowly became more heated before Bruce pulled away and shook his head a little. “Are you giving up on me this soon?” asked Joker.

”No, we should just move to the bed.” he answered.

Joker raised an eyebrow as he smiled widely. He couldn’t say anything right away either even though he tried and laughed instead. “I didn’t know we would be moving so quickly!” he exclaimed and willingly went over to the bed.

Bruce shook his head at that and followed after him. “You’re okay with it going fast as well.” he pointed out.

Joker smiled at that and grabbed his hips to bring him close. “I’m just glad we’re skipping the tension this time.” he stated biting at his jaw. He then pulled off Bruce’s shirt before pulling off his own. Bruce pushed him back onto the bed and Joker laughed at that. “I like how you’re still being rough with me.” he giggled and pulled Bruce back down.

”Please tell me you won’t giggle during sex.” he stated shaking his head.

”I can’t tell you off the top of my head, I haven’t had sex in a long time.” admitted Joker without having much trouble with it. He didn’t care if he knew that he basically didn’t have sex since his big change and he did have Batman to blame. A lot of nights were of him imagining the crusader fucking him against a wall and now it will actually happen, not in the same position but close enough.

Bruce shook his head at his honesty and got in between Joker’s legs. “I don’t care how long it’s been.” he stated leaning over Joker who expected Bruce to kiss him but he didn’t as he reached for some lube and a condom in the end table. Joker smiled at that and reached down to stroke Bruce while he was busy. Bruce bit his lip and pushed his hand away. “Not yet.”

”Just because you’re the vigilante and billionaire, doesn’t mean you can control what I want.” pointed out Joker who only began stroking him again.

”Stubborn.” he stated pulling away from him when he found the lube and condom pouring it on his fingers.

Joker pouted at him and even crossed his arms. “No foreplay?” he inquired.

Bruce shook his head and it wasn’t meant to be an answer, he was just ignoring what Joker said as he teased Joker’s entrance before slowly pushing his finger into him. That seemed to do the trick as Joker’s face fell a little and he slowly uncrossed his arms. He took a breath and looked at Bruce’s face. Bruce was unsettled slightly by how Joker fixated his gaze on him but didn’t let it stop him as he slowly moved his finger around and curling it to help stretch him open. As much as Joker claimed that he hardly felt pain he didn’t want to actually hurt him. Which just went to prove why he never killed him, never let the police bring him in and always tried to bring him to Arkham conscious. He soon pushed in a second finger and began to stretch him open.

”Oh Bats, you really know how to take care of a lady.” he winked at him not able to keep quiet the whole time. Bruce shook his head just ignoring him as he continued to stretch him open. Joker moaned a little and tilted his head back to look away from Bruce for the first time. He took that as a sign to push in a third finger and stretch him open fully while trying to find his prostate. Joker’s moan pitched higher when he felt him brush it and arched his back a little. “Alright, I’m good to go, trust me Bats.” he assured him.

Bruce smiled at that as he sat up straight and poured lube on his length he shook his head. “Call me Bruce.” he stated.

”Okay Bruce, fuck me already.” he smiled widely at him.

Bruce nodded at that as he put on the condom and positioned himself before slowly pushing into him. Joker bit his lip tightly as he tried his best to stay relaxed and kept his legs open. It was definitely tight, a lot tighter than he thought it would be and bit his lip as well. He stopped when he was fully inside of Joker. Joker let out the first breath, very slowly and looked up at Bruce. “How are you doing?”

”I’m perfectly okay.” he answered wrapping his arms around Bruce to pull him close so he could bite his jaw, hard. Bruce flinched and pulled away from him a little. “We’ve played rough up to now and I don’t mind continuing that.” he smiled at him.

”Fine.” he said gripping his hips tightly and lifted them up before thrusting hard into him. Joker moaned out and arched his back. He tightened his arms around Bruce and dug his nails into his back. Bruce moaned as well and continued thrusting into him as he leaned down to bite his jaw back for earlier. “I think you are onto something.” he moaned trying to find Joker’s prostate.

Joker was a little confused as to what they were talking about at the moment since he was enjoying the sex. “Onto?” he asked continuing to bite Bruce’s skin and being nice to leave marks where his billionaire clothes could hide them.

Bruce finally hit Joker’s prostate making his moans pitch higher and arch his back again. His hands slid down Bruce’s back making long scratches and he focused on trying to hit that spot over and over again. “There is something between us.” he said in between moaning. “And I don’t mind finding out what it is.”

Joker smiled widely at that and squeezed around Bruce. “I can’t wait to see where this goes as well.” Bruce continued thrusting hard and began to move faster as his release built up. Joker’s breath became heavier and he soon stroked himself for a few minutes before moaning loudly. He released and after a few more thrusts Bruce released as well. Bruce slowly stopped moving and both men worked on catching their breath. “I can definitely get used to this.” laughed Joker as he thought about Arkham Asylum. If he played his cards right he wouldn’t have to worry about going back, ever. He just had to keep not killing people and keep Brucey boy in bed.

Bruce pulled out of him so he could throw away the condom and went to grab a wash rag so he could clean both of them up. “You need to be brought back to Arkham.”

”Excuuuuuuse me?” he asked moving to sit up and cleaned out his ear. “I don’t think I heard that correctly.”

”You did.” he sighed. “You can’t just stay out of Arkham forever even if you’re showing signs of getting better. You need to go back and maybe I can figure out something so that you’re not just stuck in there the whole time.” he explained. Bruce reached over to wash Joker and the other grabbed his wrist tightly.

”I’m not going back even if Bruce and Batman wish for it.” he declared and snagged the wash rag out of his hand to clean himself off.

Bruce frowned at his words and should have known that it wouldn’t change. “They’ll always be looking for you.”

”Which is better than being in there. I don’t care if you put a lot of your money into that asylum, they have never cured a single person in the entirety of it having patients.” he spat and threw the wash rag across the room. “I knew you wouldn’t be cuddly after sex but telling me to go back? Never would have guessed.” he stated getting up from the bed so he could leave. He was definitely sore but the pain wasn’t that bad so he would be able to leave easily.

”Jack.” he said softly trying to get him to realize some common sense.

Joker stopped to glare at him and felt his anger boil. He couldn’t believe, after everything, not killing Jason, not tattling on who he was and even being vulnerable enough to be fucked. “If you really think that making me sit in an asylum is going to help or anyone sit in there, you’re wrong. I almost got electroshock therapy and they love to keep me sedated. They also don’t like to accept the fact that any type of drug has a different affect with me. If you try to send me back, I’ll fight just as hard as usual.” he stated before walking out of the room so he could leave the mansion without anyone knowing he was there, oh! Look at that, another curtsey to the man who didn’t want to show him any.

Bruce sighed and let him go since he did have a point. He didn’t know everything that went on in the Asylum as he would like to know but that was the only place he could think of Joker getting better. Being out and about where he is tempted to kill people and do bad things isn’t going to help him. That’s what he still thought and he would stick with it.

Joker took the long way back to his hideout so he could walk off the soreness and defuse after what Bruce said. He didn’t understand how Bruce thought that the asylum was a good place for him when he specifically told him that he was wanting to change for Bruce, because of Bruce. _He’s just a bigger idiot than I could have ever imagined._ Eventually Bruce would come to terms with that and he will vouch for him to stay out of the asylum. No matter who ran it, nothing good ever came out of it. There had to be something he could do so that the asylum wouldn’t want him back anymore…he just had to figure out what could trick everyone.

Later that night, Jason continually tried to get his body moving and when he was able to sit up, he began to think about everything that happened. He definitely shouldn’t have gone after Joker but at the same time he still felt like he should be able to take him down. Dick had been going off on his own for a few years into fighting with Bruce and yet he was nowhere near his level. It was upsetting and he just had to figure out a different way to get stronger. Being alongside Bruce and doing things his way wasn’t working out for him. Jason thought about what helped make Joker stronger and knew he didn’t mind killing people, torturing them and had a lot of weapons in his arsenal. He knew Bruce would never let him do that but it could be what he needed, something to even the odds. Jason soon stood up and looked around the room. A lot of memories were made here and all over the mansion but he had outgrown the place. He soon walked out of his room, finally making up his mind and everyone would probably think he was overreacting but as good as Bruce has been to him, it was time to move on.

***

The next morning, Bruce was the first one to go to Jason’s room and check up on him. He knocked first and figured when he didn’t get an answer he was sleeping. Bruce didn’t expect even though he should have, that Jason was gone when he opened the door. His eyes widened before looking around the room to find anything that could lead to where he would have gone off too. Alfred entered the room just as Bruce was ready to leave. “He left, didn’t he sir?” he asked him.

”Yes but where?” he asked taking out of his phone to see if he could call Jason’s number. While he was doing that, something caught his eye. He had no idea how Joker would have gotten his number in his phone in the first place since his phone was usually on him. He called up Jason’s number first and soon heard the ringing from his bed. “Great.” he sighed hanging up.

”I don’t think he left to go fight Joker…I think he ran away.” Alfred thought out loud. It made sense to Bruce as well and looked around the room slowly. Even if he didn’t run away and he just left for a few days, he was going to be constantly worried about Jason. He hoped that he wasn’t running away because he thought he hated him, he never would hate him. Bruce opened up his phone again so he could call the police and report him missing.

The rest of the day went slowly by as he answered questions and gave as much information as he could. Bruce kept looking at his phone and at Joker’s contact number. He halfway thought it was a joke but at the same time he felt like he meant to leave it behind. After everything was taken care of and it was just Alfred and him at home, he finally pulled out his phone to call the number.

Joker heard his phone from another room and walked back into his bedroom so he could answer it. “Joker speaking!” he sang a little not sure whose number it was but he always loved to answer it no matter what.

”Joker.” greeted Bruce. “Jason hasn’t come to find you right?” he asked.

”No he hasn’t…did the little birdie find his wings?” he smiled widely but it didn’t reach his eyes. He was still sore about what Bruce had said and didn’t really care about Jason right now. Joker also couldn’t believe that he had forgotten that he gave Bruce his number while rummaging through his things/.

”I don’t need you making things worse.” he stated.

Joker rolled his eyes at that, “Says the man who wants to put me away after fucking me.” he pointed out and hung up the phone. He set it back on the end table wanting nothing to do it with anyone right now.

Bruce couldn’t really blame him and sighed a little as he put his phone away. “Jason…where could you have gone?”


	27. Losing Everyone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a really good reason why this is late. I didn't want to split this chapter up, I wanted everything to be in it and so it's a long one. I hope you guys like it and I'm still debating on what's going to happen next. Also I forgot to link the video that I said I was doing with Joker in the last chapter so here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8AaQD8aMuY The reason this chapter is so much longer and I was willing to do it all in one is because The Killing Joke gave me a lot of motivation but there is one scene that is awkward as hell in it and for everyone who probably knows it, I'm kind of wondering how you feel about it too. Anyway, here's the chapter~!

Joker made an appointment with a doctor that he knew he could trust and decided to let Harley know that he had a plan. He wouldn’t let her know too much but enough so that she knew she had to stay away from him. This plan needed everyone that knew him in the dark and at least Bruce would get what he wanted. He soon found Harley practicing in her room, doing cartwheels and handstands. “Harley.” he announced himself.

”Puddin’!” she smiled widely and bounced over to Joker to give him a tight hug. “I was starting to think you were angry with me.” she stated glad to know that he wasn’t.

”I would never be angry with you.” he lied knowing that she would just fall for it again anyway. Joker moved into her room so that they could sit on her bed. “Listen, doll face I have something to tell you.”

Harley’s brow furrowed as she pulled away enough to get a good look at his face. She didn’t like the tone he had and he did seem like he had something on his mind the past few days. “What is it?” she asked.

Joker smiled a little to help reassure her that everything was fine since she was already starting to look worried. “I’m going to get caught and put back in the asylum and if you don’t want to be back in there, you need to stay hidden.”

Harley’s eyes widened and she quickly moved around to block Joker from the door. “No! You can’t get caught! The asylum may be under new management but I don’t trust it! If you get caught, I’m getting caught.”

”Harley, there’s no reason for you to get dragged back there, I want you safe and sound outside and making Batsy’s life hell.” he explained as he walked over and set his hands on her shoulders.

”But-“ she started before being interrupted by Joker placing his hand over her mouth.

”No buts darling, it’s time for me to go back. I have a plan that I need to do all by myself.” he explained some more but still not going to give all the details. Only one person would know everything like him and that was the only person that mattered.

Harley looked crushed at the idea of Joker doing something on his own but understood it at the same time. Joker was doing all of his plans before by himself so it wasn’t like he would get into any trouble that he didn’t expect. “Okay Mista J but you know I’m going to miss you.” she said looking down at the ground.

Joker smiled softly at her and lifted her face up by the chin. “I know you will and I’ll miss you too.” he said before kissing her forehead and leaving the room.

Harley’s bottom lip quivered before she fell onto her bed closing her eyes. Everything would be okay and if she was really worried about him, she could just turn herself in. _Be safe out there puddin’._

***

Bruce was looking for Jason everywhere whether he wanted him to find him or not because he couldn’t lose him. With Jason’s personality he didn’t trust him out there after listening to Joker for the past few days and he didn’t want him to think that he didn’t love him or need him. That’s why it was so important to find him and at the same time he needed to bring in Joker. If it wasn’t for criminals always running around town and having their own agendas he wouldn’t be used to being torn in two different directions but he was. He looked for Jason as Bruce Wayne but as night fell he began to focus on bringing Joker in. As much as he tried to lie about getting better out of the asylum he knew he wasn’t or he wouldn’t have beaten up Jason to begin with. He probably didn’t help matters either by having sex with Joker and because of that he didn’t know that Jason had left. He was blaming Joker in a way but also himself for letting Joker distract him.

Joker was leaving a salon at the time that Batman was flying around and looking for trouble. He landed on a roof to watch where he would go and when he got to a vehicle he quickly jumped down onto the roof before he could get inside. “Joker. “he growled at him.

”Well hiya Batsy! I didn’t know I’d be getting a visit from you tonight~.” he smiled widely and winked at him.

”I will be taking you back to the asylum.” he declared.

”Let me think about that.” he said and crossed an arm over his chest while resting his chin in his hand. “Hmm…” Batman’s eyes narrowed and he moved to get off the car. He watched Joker closely so he knew when the best time would be to attack him. “Sure, why not.” smiled Joker as he shrugged.

Batman took a few seconds to let the answer settle in and furrowed his eyebrows. “What?” he asked.

”Take me in.” he stated holding his hands out to him.

”Why?”

Joker shrugged again and moved around Batman to look him up and down. “Maybe it’s because I want to make you happy or maybe it’s because I need a break from Harley.” he answered before standing in front of him again and holding his hands out. “Or maybe it’s because you don’t trust me.” he glared for a few seconds before laughing loudly. “Just take me back to where you think I belong.”

Batman looked at his hands and then at Joker’s face before cuffing him. “The asylum.” he stated.

Joker was actually hoping he would change his mind and sighed a little. “Fine.” It looked like he wouldn’t be changing his plans but at least he tried to prove to Batman one more time that the asylum wasn’t needed.

Batman was worried about Joker since he hadn’t spoken up yet and was going as easily as he did before the asylum takeover. He had a feeling he had something planned and kept looking over at Joker who didn’t look at him once. “What do you have planned?” he asked.

”I don’t have anything planned.” he scoffed looking away from Batman. “I don’t need the asylum and no matter what I do you won’t listen to me. You think you know what’s right for everyone and because of that you’re losing everybody.” he pointed out finally looking over at Batman. “You lost Dick and now you’ve lost Jason.”

”I’m going to find Jason and I haven’t lost Dick.” argued Batman shooting a glare at Joker.

”Dick would rather work alone and Jason will never come back, you know that as well as I do and I haven’t known the kid for as long.” he smiled and began to giggle a little. “I bet you’ll keep losing people thanks to your crusade!” he laughed loudly as they pulled up to the asylum.

Batman ignored him as he pulled him out of the Batmobile and pushed him toward the security. “Here he is.” he stated as the guards took him.

”Thanks as always Batman.” they said before pushing Joker into the building.

”You’ll continue losing people as long as you think what’s best!” reminded Joker continuing to laugh even as the doors closed shut. Batman shook his head ignoring him yet again as he went to go find Jason. There was a way to find him, he couldn’t give up on Jason. Joker did his best not to fight with the staff as they continued to push him around the halls and kept an eye out trying to figure out who was in charge now. Eventually as he got to the hallway with his cell there was a man who looked a little like Amadeus standing next to it. “Well hello, are you related to the past crazy Arkham?” he asked with a wide smile.

Jeremiah smiled back at him and nodded. “Yes, he was my uncle and they believed that keeping the asylum in the family would be best.”

”So this place will make another one of your family members go cuckoo too?” he asked laughing as he walked into his cell.

”No, I will not be like my uncle.” he assured Joker. “I’m going to run this place efficiently and eventually have everyone in a sane mind to live outside of the asylum.”

Joker only laughed harder at his words and shook his head. “That’s how everyone starts here! Just you wait, you’ll lose your mind and end up being in one of these cells with Batman repeatedly putting you there.” he said as his laughter slowly turned into anger.

Jeremiah raised an eyebrow as his tone of voice changed and looked him over slowly. “I always believed you liked Batman, that he was the one person you cared about?” he asked.

”Sorry to break it to you but I don’t like him. If you haven’t noticed, I’m in here again because of him.” he pointed out. Jeremiah nodded at that and left him alone in his cell since he needed to continue getting used to the asylum anyway. Joker sighed and lied back on his bed wondering how it would be in the asylum this time around before he decided to leave.

***

The next day the staff that was watching over Joker this time around found it strange that he barely acted like himself. He was quiet, didn’t make any jokes and didn’t even try to scare anyone. They found it so strange that they didn’t plan on any medicine for him yet. Jeremiah was trying to wane away from relying on medicine until he got a meeting with the patient unless they were acting out or trying to hurt themselves. Jeremiah soon came to Joker’s cell and looked over the man. “Are you ready to have a meeting with me?” he asked.

”Whatever you say doc! I’m at your mercy.” he smiled a little getting up from the bed. A couple of security guards stepped into the cell to grab both of Joker’s arms to help him to the room. Jeremiah began leading the way and started the conversation like he usually did. “I know you were used to the old Arkham and even though Amadeus was my uncle I wish to be better than he ever was. That’s why I’m starting over, every inmate has a clean slate and we will not look at past medications that were given or treatments. I noticed on your paperwork that it mentions normal medicine has a different effect on you?” he asked glancing back when he had to wait for his card to open the door.

Joker was really surprised at his words and began to think of how long it will last before he went insane like everyone else. “Yeah for instance, the sedation that Sharpie loved to use on me would make me sleep longer and my body would always be paralyzed as my brain woke up.” he explained.

Jeremiah nodded at that and lifted the clipboard up so he could write that note down before walking to the meeting room. “Thank you for being honest with me. To be honest I said it was a clean slate but I still looked over your history. It talks about you being violent and a shining example of a rule breaker. I’m glad to see that you’ve gotten better since then even if you were out of the Asylum. What made you start getting better?” he asked as he opened up the door and stepped to the side to hold it open for him.

”Maybe I just had a change of heart?” Joker asked back as he smiled widely and stepped into the room. He picked the seat closest to the door and leaned back a little.

”What caused the change of heart?” he inquired wanting to see if he could get an answer out of him or if Joker would starting showing his defiant nature. He had read that he usually showed it the most when it came to things personal and even though he’d love to know what was reforming him, he would have to wait until Joker was willing to share that information.

Joker smiled widely and leaned forward over the table. “Remembering what an old friend said years ago but when I tried to take the offer, they shut me out.” he explained before giggling.

Jeremiah found that interesting and wished that he would get more information out of Joker now so that he could find out who he actually trusted. “Is it Harley?” he asked.

Joker’s giggles turned into outright laughter at the thought of Harley changing him. He was the one that changed her so he didn’t see her accepting the idea of him going good. “No, she would never get anything that serious done.”

”Then who could it be?” he asked. Joker just shook his head and Jeremiah figured as much but it didn’t hurt to try. He wasn’t sure of what else to try either since it was obvious that he wasn’t going to answer anything seriously. “Tell me about how you became who you are now.” he suggested.

”Batman.” he answered.

Jeremiah raised an eyebrow at that, “Batman?”

”Batman.” he repeated.

”Do you really expect me to believe that?” he asked.

Joker smiled widely as he leaned back in the chair and rested his hands behind his head. “It wasn’t all his fault, some of it is mine but he has been continuously changing my life since we first met.”

Jeremiah noted that on his clipboard and smiled widely back at him. “So, you pretend to care about Harley but really care about Batman and your relationship with him?” he asked.

”Nope.” he lied shaking his head and crossed his arms.

”I think you do.” he stated standing up from his chair. “I’ll be taking my leave now and I will see you in another meeting soon.” he smiled before leaving the room.

The security guards came in next to help Joker back to his room and it was actually unsettling that Jeremiah could figure out those things and be confident about his conclusion. It did actually make him think that maybe Amadeus’ kid can figure things out and make the asylum do its job. He also wouldn’t be making it to the next meeting but nobody knew that yet.

Jeremiah had a few hours to finish filling out paperwork before he had a visitor. He was glad to meet Bruce Wayne, the man who helped build Arkham back up from the ground and basically the co-owner. When Bruce approached his office he stood up and walked around his desk. “Hello Mister Wayne, it’s great to finally meet you.” he smiled at him and held his hand out.

Bruce grabbed his hand and shook it. “I’m glad that you were willing to meet me. I know that you are just getting into the swing of the job but I wanted to meet with the owner early on in hopes to help from things going bad later on.” he explained and Jeremiah motioned for him to sit down so he did.

”Now, is there anything I can do to assure you that things will be run properly or that the inmates will be taken care of?” he asked.

”I didn’t have anything in mind right now, I just wanted to come meet you and see the living areas for the patients again.” he answered. “I don’t have anything to nitpick yet or worry about, I just want to make sure that the work I paid for is almost done and done correctly.” he assured Jeremiah.

Jeremiah could understand but he also remembered that Bruce had a meeting with Joker as well. He had no idea why he was able to talk with Joker or what happened since it was just the two of them. “I read in Joker’s paperwork that you had a meeting with him awhile back.” he reminded him.

Bruce was kind of hoping that was forgotten but the one thing that the asylum was good at was keeping the paperwork on the inmates. “Yes, I did have a meeting with him but it ended up being fruitless in getting any information. He stole some money from me and I wanted to see why but he just avoided all the questions.” he explained so that Jeremiah wouldn’t think anything of it.

”Wouldn’t the cops usually do that?”

”Yeah but I like to take care of my own business especially since I was already at the asylum for other matters.” he answered again and had a feeling that Jeremiah wouldn’t let him have another meeting like that. Jeremiah seemed to be more aware of suspicious activity so far since he had no problems with questioning him about the meeting.

”Well then, seeing as you don’t have any pressing questions, I’ll go ahead and give you the tour of the asylum to show you the outcome of the work you paid for.” he smiled and got up from the seat to show Bruce around.

The tour still ended up with Bruce and Jeremiah walking in front of Joker’s cell. If he didn’t have the asylum memorized, he wouldn’t have thought that it was Joker’s cell they were coming up on. Usually Joker was loud and saying something but this time he was quiet. He knew right away that something was up and when they got to the cell he stopped to look inside. Joker was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling and he didn’t even bother to look and see who was there. Bruce didn’t like how uninterested Joker was and that he wasn’t his usual lively person. There was no way that what he said made this big of a change in Joker, there was just no way. Eventually Joker couldn’t deal with someone staring at him and sat up. When his eyes landed on Bruce he smiled a little. “Hello Brucey boy~.”

Jeremiah turned around when he heard the voice and noticed that Bruce had stopped in front of the cell. “I think that’s the first he’s shown any movement for a few hours.” he stated walking over to stand next to Bruce.

”Yeah, yeah, it’s because my favorite bank is here!” smiled Joker and got up to stand in front of Bruce.

”I’m not going to give you any more money.” stated Bruce as he crossed his arms.

Joker didn’t say anything to that, just looking him up and down. “Do you mind if I have a minute with him?” he asked smiling sweetly at Jeremiah.

Jeremiah found it strange that he would want to be alone with Bruce when he didn’t see him robbing the billionaire again and wondered what he would say to him. “Is this the person that you care about your relationship with or the person that offered you help?” he asked.

Bruce tried not to show any reaction to those words but at the mention of an offer, he wondered what Joker could be meaning. “We’ve only met three times now so I don’t believe that to be true.” pointed out Bruce. “I think he just likes messing with me, don’t you?” he asked Jeremiah.

”I could see that.” he nodded at him and walked down the hall to wait for Joker to say what he wanted.

Joker watched Jeremiah for as far as he could before turning his attention back to Bruce. “You did offer me once before and I turned you down. I know you said it was the last chance we had but I’m asking for another. You are the only one who can rehabilitate me and you know it.” he stated repeating what Batman told him all those years ago. When he tried to make Gordon insane, paralyzed Barbara and shared a good deep from the belly laugh with him.

Bruce wasn’t sure if he should give him another chance because even though he turned him down it didn’t end bloody that night. Joker went with him willingly after they laughed and he didn’t try harming anyone else that night. There was no violence other than the quick fight they had and ever since then he hadn’t thought about his offer again. Can Joker really be rehabilitated? _He hasn’t killed anyone around me recently._ Is their relationship broken? _I honestly thought it was when he turned me down and hurt Barbara the way he did but I still thought about him. He even hurt Jason and we had sex._ Is it possible to rehabilitate Joker himself when their relationship has made such a turn? _I don’t think so, I can’t let him get any closer or the people around me will continue getting hurt. Ever since I’ve gone soft on him things have gotten worse._ “No there is no second chance, the only way you can be rehabilitated now is being in here.” he declared before walking away to catch up with Jeremiah.

”Talk about pulling on heart strings by coming here!” he yelled at him glaring at his back. “What does a man have to do?!”

Bruce ignored him and went through the door to find Jeremiah waiting. “I’m ready to finish the tour.”

Joker continued to glare at the direction Bruce disappeared and when it was obvious he wasn’t coming back he pulled away from the bars and began to pace. No matter what he did, no matter what he said Bruce wasn’t willing to help anymore. He thought that it was too good to be true when Batman started showing emotion and how he was attracted to him. The man never meant to keep his promise and lied to him. Apparently keeping his secret and trying to help his “son” wasn’t good enough. No matter what he did wasn’t good enough. He would always be lonely, he would always be on the edge and if he wasn’t going to be given another chance when he made an effort to show he was willing to take it, then he would do the next best thing; make Bruce realize his mistake.

***

Jeremiah hired a new doctor and gave him the patient list for the day. Lazlo had Joker on the list of his patients and was glad that he did or all of this planning would have gone to waste. He headed off to do his rounds and saved Joker for last. When he got to the cell he smiled at Joker. “Hello Joker, I’m here with your medicine.”

Joker recognized the voice and quickly sat up to see Lazlo there. “The person I’ve been waiting for! Was it difficult to land this job?” he asked him as he stepped up to the bars and held out his hand.

”No, I didn’t have to fight about having you on my list either. Now take this medicine right before you do it, it will help you fool everyone and it will work for about two hours. Long enough to be found since lights out is in ten minutes. I hope you have a good night’s sleep.” he smiled and walked away from the cell to finish getting things ready.

Joker rolled the pills around in the palm of his hand hoping that it would work long enough since they couldn’t really test them out before he came back to the asylum. He walked away from the bars and closed his eyes as he thought about Bruce. He really thought that he had him that time when he talked about the offer and he really hoped he would have changed his mind because now things will be worse for him. “Bottoms up~.” he smiled widely and put the pills in his mouth before chewing them so they would get through his system faster. Joker could feel his heart rate slowing down which was strange and all he could hope for was that the pills didn’t actually kill.

Ten minutes later a guard was walking down the hall checking on the inmates and making sure that none of them were up to no good. When he got to Joker’s cell he saw Joker standing and facing away from him. “Joker, get into bed.” he ordered. There wasn’t an answer because the pill kicked in and he fell backward onto the floor, unconscious. “Get up!” he yelled at Joker not wanting to fall for his trick but when there was absolutely no movement from the man he couldn’t just stand there and continue waiting. He quickly grabbed his radio, “We have a problem in Joker’s cell, he suddenly collapsed and is unresponsive, open it up.”

”Are you sure you want to open the cell?” asked the guard on the other end of the radio because they have been through so many of Joker’s ploys to get free from the asylum and were tired of being fooled.

”Yeah, you can even lock it behind me and send someone else to the cell when it’s clear.” he explained because he didn’t want Joker getting out as much as the next person. The cell guard sighed a little and reached over to unlock Joker’s cell for him and when the guard disappeared from the camera he closed it up again. The guard dropped to his knees and began hitting Joker’s shoulders. “Can you hear me? Are you okay?” he asked loud enough for anyone who was just sleeping to wake up and looked over his torso for any sign of breathing. When Joker still didn’t respond he grabbed his radio again. “I need an AED and first aid kit to Joker’s room. He’s unresponsive and barely breathing.”

The rest of the staff heard the conversation between the guards but nobody moved a muscle, even when the guard called for help. Nobody seemed to want to move because would it be that bad if Joker died? Would anyone care? Those questions were asked every time and thankfully there was always one person who understood the right to life. That one nurse finally moved and quickly grabbed the AED and first aid kit. She ran as fast as she could to the cell and by the time she was there it was opened and unlocked for her. “Is he still breathing?” she asked.

”Yes but it’s getting slower.” he answered her.

”Don’t give him CPR until his breathing has stopped and I need his chest bare.” she stated and opened up the AED. The guard grabbed Joker’s uniform and quickly unzipped it so it wasn’t in the way. She turned it on and the voice began to give instructions on what to do but she didn’t need them. The nurse quickly placed the pads in the correct position and plugged them into the device.

”Analyzing heartbeat…do not touch the patient.” spoke the machine and it seemed like an eternity for the two before it spoke again. “Shock not advised.”

The other security guard did call 9-1-1 and there was an ambulance on the way. Its lights were going and trying to weave through traffic as quick as it could. Batman noticed the ambulance but didn’t think much of it since he didn’t hear anything over the police radio. He still watched the direction it went just in case it went to Gordon’s house but the last place he expected was it to go toward the asylum. Batman stood there looking at the place the ambulance disappeared from his sight and felt dread. There was no reason for him to feel that since he didn’t know what was happening but there was something about the ambulance heading to the asylum that…scared him. “Alfred, I want you to hack into the asylum camera feed and tell me what’s going on there.” he stated as he called the batmobile to his location.

”Yes sir.” nodded Alfred as he got into the security footage. The first camera he got was the one facing the front walkway of the asylum and saw the ambulance. “There’s an ambulance there but I don’t think there’s any reason for you to go there.” he stated as he began to look at other cameras. The asylum was awake for the most part but so far he had found nobody injured and eventually got to the hallway with Joker. He saw the stretcher outside his cell and the paramedics carrying him out of it. Alfred wasn’t sure if he should tell Bruce what was going on but it wasn’t like he could tell him nothing was happening either.

”Alfred?” asked Batman wondering if he had seen anything.

Alfred shook his head and finally spoke. “They’re taking Joker to the hospital.”

Batman realized why he had that feeling now, it was because of Joker and it wasn’t just because of his intuition. He had a feeling that Joker was hurt, he had a feeling that something was wrong with Joker and it was because he was worrying about him when he should be pushing him out of his head. The last time Joker went willingly was when he took over the asylum but this time, the way he kept asking Bruce for a chance…there was no way he would have taken his own life. He knew Joker enough that he wouldn’t quit that easily, he wouldn’t…he _couldn’t_. Instead of heading to the asylum he drove to the hospital so that he could meet them there and when everything calmed down he could see what happened to Joker.

The paramedics were definitely worried by the time they got him in the ambulance because the heart monitor couldn’t detect a heartbeat. They began to give him CPR but by the time they got to the hospital Joker was still not responding to any treatment. A doctor that met them stepped inside of the ambulance and felt for a pulse. “He’s gone.” sighed the doctor.

”Are you sure Dr. Valentin?” asked one of the nurses.

”I’m positive.” he nodded as he got out of the ambulance so they could get the stretcher inside and to the morgue.

Batman was waiting on the rooftop across the street and when the ambulance arrived with no sign of fast movement he knew what had happened. _Joker…what did you do?_

Dr. Valentin offered to take Joker to the morgue so he could get an autopsy to figure out exactly what happened. When they did get to the morgue and were alone Valentin quickly checked for his pulse again. It was still incredibly slow, too slow and his body was starting to feel cold like he was dead. “We should have tested this out before doing this.” he said softly before leaving the morgue to find out when the autopsy would be done so that way he knew how long he had to get Joker up and going or out of the hospital so he could replace his body with another.

Batman didn’t really like the idea of sneaking into a hospital because he didn’t want people to worry and think something was wrong. He just needed to see Joker for himself so he could figure out what happened. The last thing he expected was to be frozen at the door when he saw the body on the table. It didn’t look right, he should be moving, causing him hell and when he grabbed at his wrist the coldness of his body had him letting go fast. “Joker...” he said softly looking him over slowly and then focusing on his face. It almost looked like he was paler than before and he didn’t like seeing Joker like this at all. _He really is dead. He’s gone…just like Jason._ He shook his head and knew he had spent too much time there. Batman quickly left the room and got out of the hospital.

Valentin came back a few minutes later and checked Joker’s pulse again. It was slowly starting to get faster but his body was still cold. He was glad he brought a few blankets along with him and set them on Joker. “We have until morning for you to get up, I even locked the door so it’s just us.”

Over the next few hours Valentin kept checking his pulse and Joker’s body refused to get warm. He knew that was a side effect of the pills and he hoped that Joker took care of himself after he woke up. His pulse was finally getting back to normal and his eyes soon began to move. Valentin got up from the chair to watch him and checked his pulse one more time. The touch got Joker to open his eyes and he groaned. “Well, I’m still alive.” he smiled a little.

”Yes but your body temperature is refusing to come up. It’s a side effect of the pill but I figured with the blankets you should have gotten a little warmer.” he explained and when Joker tried to sit up he made sure he moved slowly.

”Thank you Lazlo for all the help you’ve given me. You’re a great doctor.” he said as he shivered. His body was definitely cold and watched as Lazlo opened one of the compartments. “My clothes! I’m always so glad to get back into them.”

Lazlo handed him the clothes and pulled it out farther to show the body that would be Joker’s substitute. “How does it look?” he asked.

Joker got up slowly and dressed before going over to look at it. “I think it’d even fool Batsy.” he giggled and as he turned away his laughter got louder.

”What are you going to do?” he asked him. “Everybody will think your dead, do you have a big plan set up?” he asked.

”No, no I don’t have anything big planned. I just wanted to Bats to realize his mistake for not giving me a second chance. If you can’t make them love you, break their heart.” he said and began to giggle again.


	28. Knightfall

Over the next few months Alfred and Barbara saw and had to deal with the change of Jason going missing and Joker dying. Barbara kept trying to convince Batman that he needed someone else with him on the field. Bruce refused to listen to her even though they had a perfect candidate. Alfred also tried to get Bruce to recruit Tim and trying to keep his mind off the two people that have been hanging over his head. Finally, Alfred got Bruce to meet with Tim who was more than happy to start training. He had the brains already he just needed to learn how to fight.

A couple of weeks into the training Bruce began to feel a little better and wasn’t beating himself up as much about Jason. Jason left on his own and didn’t want to be found. If only he could figure out how to feel better about Joker’s death. He could have saved him and he could have helped him but when he asked for it, he turned him down. Bruce honestly thought he was doing the right thing and even though he died of heart failure he still felt responsible. The autopsy mentioned that it could have been the medicine that was given to him that night but with his body chemistry being altered there was no 100% fault. Every single night since his death Bruce had anticipated the return of Joker. He anxiously waited to hear those words, hear that laugh and see the purple suit but it never happened. Bruce was desperately wanting to hear a sign of him to the point that he began to dream about Joker and swore he heard him a few times. It was definitely getting out of hand and he had to get over Joker. There was no way he would return no matter how much he wished he didn’t die. Bruce paused in looking through his Joker folder and realized what he had just thought. _I wish you hadn’t died…_ He repeated that in his head a few times before closing the folder and dragging it over to the trash. The screen popped up with the question of him being sure that he wanted to put it in the trash and he answered yes. Bruce didn’t empty the trash and instead turned his computer off to go to bed.

Nine months after Joker passing Gordon was starting to worry about the crime in Gotham because instead of a power struggle, crime got better. Things were more calm and the job got a lot easier. He didn’t like the quiet and believed in the old idiom of the calm before the storm. Gordon was prepared for anything and even though some cops believed he was over thinking the situation, he knew Gotham better because he’d been dealing with her longer than the rest of the cops underneath him. _Someone will pull the trigger…but who?_

When the shit finally hit the fan, nobody would have guessed it would be Scarecrow. After Crane was attacked by Croc and no one saw him for a while they really thought that he wouldn’t come back. Now they understood why he was gone for so long, he was preparing. He had a new toxin that couldn’t be stopped and an army to back him up. It really didn’t look like good would win that night after every criminal that was out of Arkham at the time started popping up with their own plans. Batman definitely felt thinned out between everything and it only got worse when Barbara was kidnapped and Gordon disappeared. Out of all the nights that he needed to keep his head in the game, this topped them all and he couldn’t do it.

Scarecrow got him early on in the night with his toxin and it wasn’t getting any better with each passing hallucination. It was almost to the point that Batman was believing that Joker was real. While he was gliding over one of the many riots in Gotham he heard one of the men speak about a figure they had seen. “Yeah, I shit you not, it was Joker.” he said and his voice was a little shaky. Batman furrowed his eyebrows and flew down closer so he could look at the group of thugs that the voice came from.

”You’re lying, Joker died nearly a year ago.” scoffed one of them.

”No! I’m serious!” he hissed almost like he didn’t want to be heard. Joker would definitely be angry with how they were following the other criminals instead of Harley and he didn’t want to be caught by him that’s why he was letting the other people that came with him know. “He’s alive, there’s no one that can laugh like him, you have to believe me!”

Batman studied the man as he saw his body shake a little and by how the fear began to show up more in his voice he desperately wanted to believe this man was right. _Not desperately, I just need to know that I’m not losing my mind._ Even he knew there was no way for Joker to be alive but it really sounded like this man was telling the truth or was it just his need of Joker that was making it sound like that? Batman shook his head and grappled away to continue with the mission he was currently on.

The vigilante wished that he didn’t overhear the conversation because the hallucinations got even worse, Joker showed up more than before and he wished Joker would leave him alone. There was nothing he could have done, lying to himself. Joker wasn’t alive, or was he? Nothing made sense and it was Scarecrow’s fault, him and his toxin. The hallucinations weren’t too bad during fights so far but when there was one particular group of thugs that was giving him all kinds of trouble he suddenly noticed a new person joining the group. It was strange because he hadn’t come across a group yet that called in back up but that thought left his brain when one of the men got on the radio.

”JOKE-“ yelled one of them but was cut off before the full word could be said. Batman deduced the word Joker and only thought he heard that because of what was going on in his head. He turned to look at the men that were left standing and did see one more on the ground then there was before. The other figure got a little closer as it walked up to another one of the thugs and jumped on his back. It looked like he was holding something over his mouth and once the guy dropped down he could finally get a better look at the person. He was a lot skinnier than the thugs, it was obvious he wasn’t part of their plan and whoever it was, they knew how to fight.

The person’s luck turned for the worse when one of the thugs looked over at him as he was running to hide and that time he was able to say it. “I thought he was dead! Guys! Joker is here!”

Batman frowned at the words and to help out whoever was there he came up behind the guy that spotted him to knock him out. “Joker is dead.” he stated out loud in hopes that would help the hallucinations and to bring out whoever was helping him. If they were trying to impersonate Joker they were doing a bad job of it because instead of helping the bad guys, he was helping Batman.

”Stop telling people I’m dead Batsy!” shouted Joker as he came around the corner from where he was hiding and hoping that he wouldn’t have to kill that last thug since he knew Batman was there.

Batman froze at the voice and his eyes slowly took in the sight of the grinning and pale clown that he hadn’t seen in months. He had a quick flash of his dead body in the morgue and that’s when his body was able to move again. “You faked your death?” he asked glaring at Joker and walking over to him.

Joker laughed at the reaction he was getting since he figured that he would be angry and wondered what his next few actions would be. “Yeah I did and I sure did prove a point didn’t I? You need me and I can change because I need you.”

Batman really had no idea what he wanted to do as he slowly got closer to Joker. He had an urge to punch him, he had an urge to take him to Arkham, but the biggest urge he had was to kiss him. The vigilante missed Joker a lot more than he ever thought would and with his hallucinations happening all night it really put it in perspective. Out of all the things that he feared the most, was Joker being completely gone from his life. As strong of an urge to kiss him was he instead clocked Joker across the jaw.

Joker’s head snapped to the side and took a few steps to balance himself. He wasn’t angry, in fact he started to giggle and laugh again. “I’m glad you haven’t changed but I won’t lie, I was hoping for a more warm welcome.”

Batman didn’t attack him the next time he moved and instead just grabbed his shoulders. He leaned in like he wanted to kiss Joker but this wasn’t the time to do something like that no matter how happy he was. He squeezed his shoulders and looked closely at Joker’s face before focusing on his eyes. _He’s real…right? Really real?_

”Look, I had to do something to get you to believe that I’m okay, I can do this and that you need to trust me. Sure I forced you to trust me and I just saved your hide but I think it all worked out.” he smiled widely not completely sure of what has happened to Batman so far tonight and how much his death affected him.

”Are you going to help me?” asked Batman because Joker would be a huge asset to have and he already helped him once.

Joker felt like there was something else going on that he should know and searched Batman’s face for an answer. “Yeah, I will or I wouldn’t have helped you with these fine fellows. By the way, you usually have to take on fifty of my men before slowing down, what happened here?”

”Nothing.” he lied pulling away from Joker so he could head toward the Batmobile.

Joker followed after him knowing that he was lying but didn’t want to mess up this opportunity that was given to him. Batman trusted Joker enough to let him help and didn’t care what it was as he followed him to the Batmobile. “Okay, so who is still out there?” he asked.

”Everybody, including Harley.” he answered him and looked over at Joker before getting into the Batmobile. “Will you be able to take her down with me?” he asked.

”I definitely can, I never really loved her anyway. She’s fun and crazy just like me but I definitely don’t love her.” he assured Batman as he climbed in next to him. Batman nodded and headed toward a bank where Harvey’s thugs were currently causing mayhem.

The night felt forever to Joker and he was pretty sure it was because he was on the other side of the chess board. He had no idea how Batman could still have stamina after finally getting to Scarecrow. Joker had to stay off to the side for this one and it wasn’t by his choice, Batman pretty much kept him out of the warehouse Scarecrow told him to go too. He couldn’t keep from following them and the one thing on his mind was that Scarecrow better not beat him up that much. When he finally got inside he spotted the Arkham Knight which they both found out was Jason. He did his best to keep his distance since he wasn’t sure of what Jason would do since their last meeting wasn’t all too friendly. Joker hated it though because he couldn’t help and when it was revealed that Bruce was Batman he knew exactly what was going through Batman’s head. There was no way for Bruce and Batman could live in unison not if he wanted everyone who was close to Bruce to stay alive. He was glad to see Jason had left and Gordon and Tim were going to go their own way. It gave him time to quickly get beside Bruce as he was leaving the Asylum. “Bruce.” he stated quickly catching up.

”You have no idea how weird that still sounds coming from you.” stated Batman as he looked over at Joker.

”What are you going to do?” he asked.

”I’m going to end this, end my crusade and save everyone that helped me.” he answered.

Joker hated hearing it and frowned as he stepped in front of Batman. “What does that mean about our relationship?” he asked.

Batman stopped and looked over Joker’s face. He had it planned where he would be living with Alfred but that was before Joker and him got closer, before he was mentally wrecked with Joker’s death and him still being alive. Even though it had been barely a night since Joker proved that he was alive and able to get better, he was going to follow his gut. He knew from the beginning Joker could be helped and smiled a little. “I’ll shine the flashlight for you to cross.”

Joker’s frown quickly turned into a wide smile and he couldn’t help from giggling at the joke he told him all those years ago. “As long as you promise not to shut it off while I cross.” he said holding his hand out. Batman glanced down at his hand and raised an eyebrow. Joker remembered that his buzzer was on his hand just in case if he came into a fight while going into the asylum and laughed again as he pulled it off. “Sorry, I thought I would run into trouble, that wasn’t meant for you.” he assured him.

When Joker held his hand out again to him Batman shook his hand that time and but also pulled Joker close so he could kiss his forehead. “We can work on this after we get back home.” he stated. Joker was surprised to hear those words but nodded at that. He wasn’t sure if he would be included into the plan but for the most part, the criminals they fought tonight would continue to believe he was alive. They would try searching for him but there would be no way to find him because he would be with Batman…no Bruce and maybe he can take on the name Jack. Just maybe.

***

Gordon stood on top of GCPD as he looked at Gotham city and then back at the broken bat signal. He still couldn’t believe that Batman was gone and along with him, Bruce Wayne. Both were huge contributions to the city and were already missed. A lot of people tried to explain it and some even still refused to believe it. He knew though, he knew that Bruce was indeed Batman because of what he saw that night his parents died. A kid who was determined and heartbroken, nothing would stop him and he believed nothing ever could. _I guess that’s why we’re mortals after all._ He took a couple extra minutes to smoke his pipe before heading downstairs to get into the limo. Gordon wasn’t used to wearing suits and fidgeted with the tie again. He got a text from his daughter asking if he was almost there and reminding him not to touch his tie. If there was one thing that he could never thank Bruce enough was for making sure his daughter was taken care of and keeping her alive.

As he watched cars, pedestrians and buildings pass he thought back on the information he received from Cash. There were hundreds of suspects…who killed Bruce Wayne? It looked like they wouldn’t get an answer and all he hoped was that whatever came next, criminals would continue to be scared of the dark. That seemed to be the only way this city would ever survive and that’s what he hoped for the most as he stepped out of the limo to a crowd cheering for the new mayor of Gotham.

Behind the crowd of people cheering for Gordon there were two men that had beanies on and sweatshirts. They noticed that a family walked down the alley behind them and decided to follow after them. The three looked like easy picking and would have a good amount of money on them. Before the crooks could get close to the family one saw a flash of purple down one of the other alleys. That made him stop and look down it before the spine crawling laughter could be heard and he shivered. “Hey, we have a problem.” he spoke up to his friend and didn’t want to take his eyes off the alley.

”What are you talking about?” hissed his partner and glanced over at him to see that he had fallen behind. He looked ahead to watch the family who seemed to disappear. “What the fuck?” he snapped at the other and turned to walk back.

”Do you hear it?” he asked him keeping his voice soft and once again the laughter that had disappeared over a year ago floated down the alley again. There was a noise from above their heads and they both looked up before glaring at the dark figure. “We’re not scared of that anymore!” he shouted at the Batman with a glowing orange symbol.

The Batman began to lift off the ground as a dark shadow that looked to be bats flapping around his feet expanded past his body. The crooks were now a little scared but stood their ground before Batman whipped out his cape looking like wings that broke the building. The two of them screamed as the figure came flying at them.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys I had two options for the ending and instead I went with the one where Joker and Batman are still working as a team. I did write an ending where Alfred, Bruce and Jack were living off well in another city but it just didn't seem right and I decided to delete and go with the ending of the game. It's not exactly the same but that's only because Joker is there to help Batman learn to be even scarier and meaner. I really hope you guys like the last chapter and I'm sorry if there was a lot of skipping. I figured since most of you will know the games you guys know how everything adds up at the end. I'll also admit I'm not that good at endings so that's why I hope you guys like it and thank you so, so very much for dealing with me the past year as I completed this story!


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